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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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THE 

YOUNG 
GARDENER'S ASSISTANT 

CONTAINING A CATALOGUE OF 

®ivIEE)31Sr A IPtti®W3KB SQUEESSg 

WITH 

PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS UNDER EACH HEAD, 

FOR THE CULTIVATION OF 

CULINARY VEGETABLES AND FLOWERS. 

ALSO DIRECTIONS FOR 

CULTIVATING FRUIT TREES, THE GRAPE VINE, &c ; 

TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

Showing the Work necessary -to be do«ig in fhe various departments of Gardening in 
every month of the year, 

SE VENTH EDITION, IMPROVED. 

/ 

^-^ 

■ 
BY TJ BRIDGEMAN, 

GARDENER, SEEDSMAN AND FLORIST, NEW-YORK. 



The end of all instruction should be the attainment of useful knowledge. 




NEW-YORK: 

MITCHELL & TURNER. PRINTERS, 265 BOWEl 
For sale by T. Bridgeman, corner of 18th-st. and Broadway, imnltediately north of Union Place : 
G. C. Thcrturn. No. 11 John-st. : Alexander Smith, 338 Broadway: G. R. Garretson, 111 Ful- 
ton-st. Seedsmen : J. Stanley & Co. 418 Broadway: H. and S. Raynor, 76 Bowery : J. G. 
Shaw, 134 Bowery, Eooksellers, New-York. Wm. Thorburn, corner of North Market-st. and 
Maiden Lane, opposite Stanwix Hall, Albany : Messrs. Reynolds & Bateham, Rochester, and 
other Seedsmen and Florists in various parts of the United States. 

1837. 



[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year Eighteen Hundred 
and Thirty-Seven, by Thomas Bbidgeman, in the Clerk's Office, of the 
District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New- York, 
in the Second Circuit.] 



3> 02<? 



*9 



PREFACE TO THE SEVENTH EDITION. 



The primary object in first publishing The Young 
Gardener's Assistant, was, to enable our respectable seeds- 
men, while furnishing a catalogue of seeds for the use of 
the Kitchen and Flower Garden, to afford instructions at 
a trifling expense to such of their customers as may not 
have a regular gardener, and thereby save themselves the 
blame of those who may not have given their seeds a fair 
trial, for want of knowing how to dispose of them in the 
ground. 

In appearing before the public with this seventh edition of 
the work, the Author cannot forbear to express his sense of 
obligation to his patrons in general, and to his fellow-seeds- 
men of New-York in particular, each of whom having by 
the interest they have taken in circulating the book, evinced 
their approbation of this humble attempt to serve both the 
seedsman and the gardener, in supplying directions for the 
management of a garden, in a manner calculated to insure 
success. 

Upwards of four thousand copies of previous editions 
haye been issued from the seed store of Mr. G. C. Thorburn, 
who has cheerfully afforded liberal encouragement to the 
publication of this edition. Messrs. Smith & Co. and other 
seedsmen, have also contributed largely to its circulation, 
and the Author has been gratified by learning that his 
labours are appreciated by eminent horticulturists, as the 
following extracts will demonstrate : — 



iv PREFACE. 

" Dear Sir, — You will see by the next month's New 
York Farmer, if you have not already seen by the Albany 
papers, that several copies of your Young Gardener's 
Assistant were given as premiums by the State Agri- 
cultural Society. Mr. D. B. Slingerland and myself were 
on the committee for awarding premiums, and thought 
your work was deserving encouragement, and that even in 
this small way we might be of service in bringing it before 
the public as worthy of bei^g given as premiums. 
" Yours, very respectfully, 

" Alexander Walsh. 
" Lansingbnrgh, November, 1S35." 

It appears from an article in the New- York Farmer, and 
Horticultural Repository, that the first edition of the work 
was noticed in France. The Editor informs us, in page 
295 of the fourth volume, " That one of the leading articles 
in the second number of the present volume of the Annates 
de U Institute, Royal Horticole de Fromont, is a long notice 
of the Young Gardener's Assistant, by Mr. T. Bridgeman 
of this city. The editor, Le Chevalier Soulange Bodin, 
speaks of the little work in very commendable terms." 

Numerous other proofs could be adduced of the kind 
reception the work has met. Suffice it to state, that it has 
been extensively noticed, and recommended to public pa- 
tronage, by editors of literary periodicals, and in many of 
those publications devoted to agricultural and horticultural 
pursuits, in various parts of this and other countries. 

As the simplicity of cultivating the soil may lead many 
to think, that " a wayfaring man though a fool, could not 
easily err therein," it may be necessary to remind such, 
that the vegetable productions of the earth, being natives of 
various soils and climates, require peculiar management 



PREFACE. v 

when cultivated in climates different to those in which 
nature first produced them ; and that although many species 
of plants in common use with us, will endure the heat of 
our summers, others can only be raised in perfection during 
mild and temperate weather, and some require artificial 
means to be used out of the ordinary seasons for gardening 
operations. 

In the following pages no efforts have been spared to 
impart useful information on the several branches of horti- 
culture. The directions for the cultivation of vegetables 
are the result of seventeen years' assiduous practice and 
observation as a market gardener; and it is presumed that 
the Author's experience in other departments of gardening 
has been sufficient to warrant him in this attempt to 
instruct those who have not hitherto become acquainted 
with the art. The Author considers it not derogatory to 
acknowledge, that he has frequently compared his ideas with 
those of other Authors, and that he has in some instances 
availed himself of the benefit of their instructions ; but he 
is not aware that in so doing, he has adopted any ideas 
merely speculative ; to avoid which he has invariably 
submitted such manuscript to the scrutiny of experienced 
gardeners of his acquaintance, and the result has generally 
been such as to confirm him in his original positions. 

It must appear evident to the reader on a review of this 
work, that the Author, in adopting the catalogue form, has 
been enabled to give as much information as is necessary to 
the cultivation of each particular kind of vegetable, in a 
condensed form ; whereas, had he pursued the same course 
as most of his predecessors have done, his book would have 
been considerably larger, and the reader must have been at 
the trouble of perusing the greater part of it, at least twelve 
times in the course of a year. The Author, however, being 



yi PREFACE. 

aware of the convenience of a calendar, has in this edition 
annexed one, which he presumes is well calculated not only 
to assist the memory of the gardener, but to show him, at 
one glance, the work necessary to be done in the various 
departments of gardening in every month of the year. 

The Author having shown his primary object in adopting 
•the catalogue form, presumes that his readers will not be 
disappointed, if they do not find there the names of all the 
species or varieties of plants they may wish to introduce 
into their gardens, the mode of culture of such being gene- 
rally alike. If a catalogue of this kind was essential, 
it would occupy more space than is allotted for this book ; 
besides it would be impossible to keep pace with our 
enterprising horticulturists and florists, who are continually 
introducing new species into our country. When, also, it 
is considered that there are a number of indigenous plants 
at present unknown to us, it will appear evident that the 
most extensive catalogue would not be perfect in this respect 
for any length of time ;' the Author, therefore, thought it 
unnecessary to attempt any thing more than that which is 
essential to the attainment of a tolerable share of the pro- 
ducts of the garden, by ordinary exertion. How far he has 
succeeded in this respect, must be left for the reader to 
decide. 

THOMAS BRIDGEMAN. 

New- York, January, 1837. 



GENERAL REMARKS 

ON THE 
MANAGEMENT OF A KITCHEN GARDEN 



Before I commence the Catalogue, it may be necessary 
for me to direct the reader's attention to some important 
matters, essential to the good management of a Kitchen 
Garden. 

The mode of laying out the ground is a matter of taste, 
and may be left to the gardener himself; the form being a 
thing of trifling importance in the production of useful vege- 
tables, or whether the ground be laid out in beds of four or 
ten feet wide, provided it be well worked, and the garden 
kept neat and free from weeds. 

Those who have not a garden already formed, should, 
however, fix on a level spot where the soil is deep ; but as we 
have not always a choice, I recommend the reader to that 
which is within the reach, and ought to be the object of 
every man, namely, to make the most of what he has. 

To this end, he may form a border round the whole garden, 
from five to ten feet wide, according to the size of the piece 
of land ; next to this border, a walk may be made from three 
to six feet wide ; the centre part of the garden may be divi- 
ded into squares, on the sides of which a border may be laid 
out three or four feet wide, in which the various kinds of 
herbs may be raised, also Gooseberries, Currants, Rasp- 
berries, Strawberries, &c. The centre beds may be planted 
with all the various kinds of vegetables. The outside bor- 
ders facing the East, South and West, will be useful for 
raising the earliest fruits and vegetables ; and that facing 
the North, being shady and cool, will serve for raising and 
pricking out such young plants, herbs and cuttings, as re- 
quire to be screened from the intense heat of the sun. It 
may be necessary to state further, that though shady situa- 
tions are useful for the purpose of raising Celery, Cabbage, 



» GENERAL REMARKS. 

and other small plants, slips, &c, in the summer season, that 
all standard trees should be excluded from a Kitchen 
Garden, for the following reasons : — First, their roots apread 
so widely, and imbibe so much moisture from the ground, 
that little is left for the nourishment of any plant within the 
range of their influence ; — Secondly, when in full leaf they 
shade a large space, and obstruct the free circulation of the 
air, so essential to the wellrbeing of all plants; — Thirdly, 
the droppings from trees are particularly injurious to what- 
ever vegetation they fall upon. 

Previous to entering on the work of a garden, the 
gardener should lay down rules for his future government. 
In order to this, he should provide himself with a blank book. 
In this he should first lay out a plan of his garden, allotting 
a place for all the different kinds of vegetables he intends 
to cultivate. As he proceeds in the business of planting his 
grounds, if he were to keep an account of every thing he 
does relative to his garden, he would soon obtain some 
knowledge of the art. This the writer has done for the last 
seventeen years, and he flatters himself that a publication of 
the results of his practice will be interesting and useful to 
his readers. 

If gardeners were to make it a rule to record the dates 
and particulars of their transactions relative to tillage, 
planting, &c, they would always know when to expect 
their seeds to come up, and how to regulate their crops for 
succession; and, when it is considered that plants of the 
Brassica, or Cabbage tribe, are apt to get infected at the 
roots, if too frequently planted in the same ground, and 
that a rotation of crops in general is beneficial, it will appear 
evident that a complete register of every thing relative to 
culture is essential to the well-being of a garden. 

One important point to be attended to, is to have a supply 
of good old manure, and other composts, ready to incorporate 
with the earth ; also a portion of ashes, soot, tobacco dust, 
and lime, for the purpose of sowing over seed beds in dry 
weather ; this will tend in a great measure to destroy insects, 
which sometimes cut off the young plants as fast as they 
come up. 



GENERAL REMARKS. J) 

If the ground cannot be all manured every year as it 
should be, it is of primary importance that those vegetables 
be provided for which most need manure. A perusal of the 
catalogue will enable the young gardener to judge of the 
kinds of garden products which require most. Lest I should 
not have been explicit enough in this particular, I would 
inform him, that good rich manure is indispensably neces- 
sary for the production of Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, 
Lettuce, Spinage, Onions, Radishes, and Salads in general. 

In the event of a scanty supply of manure, those kinds of 
vegetables which are raised in hills or drills, may be provided 
for, by disposing of the manure immediately under the 
seeds* or plants. 

The next important matter is to have the ground in suit- 
able condition to receive the seed ; I wish it to be under- 
stood, that I am an advocate for early sowing and planting, 
even at the risk of losing a little seed, provided the ground 
be fit to receive it. A light sandy soil will be benefitted if 
worked when moist, as such treatment will have a tendency 
to make it more compact ; on the contrary, if a clay soil be 
worked when too w-et, it kneads like dough, and never fails 
to bind when drought follows ; and this not only prevents 
the seeds from rising, but injures the plants materially in 
their subsequent growth, by its becoming impervious to the 
moderate rains, dews, air, and influence of the sun, all of 
which are necessary to the promotion of vegetation. 

Some gardeners, as well as some writers, recommend cer- 
tain fixed days for sowing and planting particular kinds of 
seeds ; I think it necessary to guard my readers from being 
misled. The failure of crops may be often attributed to the 
observance of certain days for sowing. If some kinds of 
seeds be sown when the ground is wet and cold, they will 
become chilled in the ground, and seldom vegetate. If they 
be sown in very dry weather, the germinative parts of the 
seed may become injured by the burning rays of the sun, or 
the young plants may get devoured by insects as fast as 
they come up. To obviate these difficulties, I have generally 
allowed a week or ten days for the sowing of the seeds, 
intending the medium as the proper time for the vicinity of 



10 GENERAL REMARKS. 

New-York. With this clearly borne in mind, the reader 
who observes the difference in the degrees of heat and cold 
in the different parts of the country, will know how to apply 
these instructions accordingly. 

Much depends on the manures used on particular kinds of 
soils. The great art of improving sandy and clayey soils, is 
to give the former such dressings of clay, cow dung, and 
other kinds of manure, as will have a tendency to bind and 
make them more compact, and consequently more retentive 
of moisture ; and to the latter, coats of horse dung, ashes, 
sand, and such other composts as may tend to separate the 
particles and open the pores of the clay, so as to cause it to 
approach as nearly as possible to a loam. 

The nearer the ground approaches to a sandy soil, the less 
retentive will it be of moisture ; the more to a clayey, the 
longer will it retain it ; and the finer the particles of which 
the clay is composed, the more tenacious will it be of water, 
and consequently be longer in drying, and the harder when 
dry ; but earth of a consistence that will hold water the long- 
est, without becoming hard when dry, is of all others, the 
best adapted for raising the generality of plants in the 
greatest perfection. This last described soil is called loam, 
and is a medium earth, between the extremes of clay and 
sand. 

I have, in most cases, recommended drills to be made at 
certain depths for the different kinds of seeds ; and when I 
have stated that the drills should be two inches deep, it is 
intended that the seeds should be covered only one inch, 
which they will be when planted in these drills, and covered^ 
and so in proportion for any other depth required. This 
may serve as a guide to the young gardener, but circum- 
stances alter cases ; if, for instance, some particular crops 
should fail, this would render it necessary, if the season be 
far advanced, to risk a further planting of seeds, even if the 
weather be hot and the ground dry; if these be planted a 
little deeper, they may escape the violent heat of the sun, and 
in the event of a shower, the ground would become suffici- 
ently moist to bring them up ; whereas, it sometimes happens 
that seeds sown after a shower do not vegetate until after the 



GENERAL REMARKS. H 

season is too far advanced to bring the crop to perfection. 
The work of drilling may be performed in various ways ; 
in some cases a plough is used, in others a small hoe, or a 
dibble drawn along the edge of a board or line ; it is of little 
consequence which way the work is done, if it b§ well done. 
While I leave the gardener to make his own choice of tools, I 
would suggest that he be provided with two or three drilling 
machines; these, every handy man may make for himself; 
they should be in the form of a garden rake, with a stout 
heavy back, and five teeth two inches broad, and tapered so 
as to enter the ground, and leave drills two inches deep. If 
one be made with the teeth eight inches apart, another twelve, 
and another fourteen, they- will be useful in making drills for 
various seeds ; and drills thus made serve instead of straining 
a line for every row' in planting Cabbages, Lettuce, Leeks, 
<fcc. the line being stretched at one edge of the bed, and the 
drilling machine drawn straight by the line, makes five drills 
at once. If they are straight, they may be kept so, by keep- 
ing one drill open for the outside tooth to work in until the 
ground be all drilled. 

Gardeners practice different methods of covering up seeds, 
some do it with a hoe, others with a rake or harrow; some 
draw a portion of the earth to the side of the bed ; and after 
sowing the seeds, return it regularly over the bed ; in some 
particular cases, a sieve is used, in others a roller. Rolling, 
or treading in seeds, is necessary in dry seasons, but it 
should never be done when the ground is wet. 

There is nothing that protects young crops of Turnips* 
Cabbages, and other small plants, from the depredations of 
the fly, so well as rolling ; for when the surface is rendered 
completely smooth, these insects are deprived of the harbour 
they would otherwise have under the clods and small lumps 
of earth. This method will be found more effectual than 
soaking the seed in any preparation, or dusting the plants 
with any composition whatever ; but as the roller must only 
be used previous to, or at the time of sowing the seed, and not 
even then if the ground be wet, it is necessary that the 
gardener should have a hogshead always at hand in dry 
weather, containing infusions made of waste tobacco, lime. 



12 GENERAL REMARKS. 

soot, cow dung, elder, burdock leaves, &c. A portion of 
these ingredients, or any other preparation that is pernicious 
or poisonous to insects, without injuring the plants, thrown 
into a hogshead kept filled up with water, if used mode- 
rately over J>eds of young plants in dry weather, would, in 
almost every case, insure a successful crop. 

As liquid, however, cannot be conveniently used on a 
large piece of land, it may be necessary, if insects are nume- 
rous, to sow tobacco dust mixed with road dust, soot, ashes, 
lime, or the dust of charcoal, in the proportion of half a 
bushel per acre, every morning, until ihe plants are free or 
secure from their attacks. Turnip seed will sometimes 
sprout in forty- eight hours. Cabbage seed ought to come up 
within a week after it is sown ; but it sometimes happens 
that the whole is destroyed before a plant is seen above 
ground ; the seedsman, in this case, is often blamed ■without 
a cause. A correspondent has communicated the result of 
an experiment he has tried for preventing the attacks of flies 
or fleas, on turnips. He says, " steep your seeds in a pint of 
warm water for two hours, in which is infused one ounce of 
saltpetre ; then diy the seed, and add currier's oil sufficient 
to wet the whole ; after which mix it with plaster of Paris, 
so as to separate and render it fit for sowing." 

In the summer season, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, 
&c. are particularly subject to the ravages of grubs and 
caterpillars ; to prevent this wholly, is perhaps impossible, 
but it is not difficult to check these troublesome visitors ; 
this may be done, by searching for them on their first 
appearance, and destroying them. Early in the morning, 
grubs may be collected from the earth, within two or three 
inches of such plants they may have attacked the night 
previous. The approach of caterpillars is discoverable on 
the leaves of Cabbages, many of which are reduced to a 
thin white skin, by the minute insects which emerge from 
the eggs placed on them ; these leaves being gathered and 
thrown into the fire, a whole host of enemies may be de- 
stroyed at once ; whereas, if they are suffered to remain, 
they will increase so rapidly, that in a few days the planta- 
tion, however extensive, may become infested ; now, when 



GENERAL REMARKS. 13 

once these arrive at the butterfly or moth stage of existence, 
they become capable of perpetuating their destructive race 
to an almost unlimited extent. The same remarks apply 
to all other insects in a torpid state. Worms, maggots, 
snails or slugs, may be driven away by sowing salt or lime 
in the spring, in the proportion of two to three bushels per 
acre, or by watering the soil occasionally with salt and 
water, to the quantity of about two pounds of salt to four 
gallons of water ; or the slug kind may be easily entrapped 
on small beds of plants, by strewing slices of turnip on them 
late in the evening ; the slugs or snails will readily crowd 
on them, and may be gathered up early in the morning 
(before sunrise) and destroyed. 

Perhaps the next important point to be attended to, is the 
most proper rotation of crops. Virgil, who was a philoso- 
pher as well as a poet, very justly observes, that, " the true 

REPOSE OF THE EARTH IS A CHANGE OF ITS PRODUCTIONS." 

It is a curious fact, that a plant may be killed by the 
poison which it has itself secreted, as a viper may be stung 
to death by its own venom. Hence it has been very gene- 
rally noticed, that the soil in which some particular vegeta- 
bles have grown, and into which they have discharged the 
excretions of their roots, is rendered noxious to the pros- 
perity of plants of the same or allied species, though it be 
quite adapted to the growth and support of other distinct 
species of vegetables. 

It is proved by experience, that fall Spinach is an excel- 
lent preparative for Beets, Carrots, Radishes, Salsify, and 
all other tap, as well as tuberous-rooted vegetables. 

Celery, or Potatoes, constitute a suitable preparative for 
Cabbage, Cauliflower, and all other plants of the Brassica 
tribe; also Artichokes, Asparagus, Lettuce, and Onions, 
provided that such ground be well situated, which is a cir- 
cumstance always to be duly considered in laying out a 
garden. 

Lands that have long lain in pasture are for the first 
three or four years after being tilled, superior for Cabbage, 
Turnips, Potatoes, &c. and afterwards for culinary vegeta- 
bles in general. 

2 



14 GENERAL REMARKS. 

The following rules are subjoined for further government : 

Fibrous-rooted plants may be alternated with tap, or 
tuberous-rooted, and vice versa. 

Plants which produce luxuriant tops, so as to shade the 
land, to be succeeded by such as yield small tops or narrow 
leaves. 

Plants which during their growth require the operation 
of stirring the earth, to precede such as do not admit of 
such culture. 

Ground which has been occupied by Artichokes, Aspara- 
gus, Rhubarb, Sea Kale, or such other crops as remain 
Jong on a given spot, should be subjected to a regular rota- 
tion of crops, for at least as long a period as it remained 
under such permanent crops. Hence in all gardens ju- 
diciously managed, the Strawberry bed is changed every 
three or four years, till it has gone the circuit of all the 
compartments ; and Asparagus beds, &c. should be re- 
newed on the same principle, as often as they fail to produce 
luxuriantly. Indeed, no two crops should be allowed to 
ripen their seeds in succession in the same soil, if it can be 
avoided, because, if it be not exhausted by such crops, 
weeds will accumulate more than on beds frequently 
cultivated. 

Manure should be applied to the most profitable and 
exhausting crops ; and the succession of crops should be 
so arranged, that the ground be kept occupied by plants 
either valuable in themselves, or which may contribute to 
the increased value of those which are to follow ; and the 
value of the labour required to mature vegetables, and pre- 
pare them for market, should be always taken into con- 
sideration. 

Many kinds of seeds, such as Asparagus, Capsicum, 
Celery, Fetticus, Leek, Lettuce, Onion, Parsnip, Parsley, 
Rhubarb, Salsify, Spinage, and other light seeds, will not 
vegetate freely, unless the ground be watered or rolled ; 
where there is no roller on the premises, the following may 
answer for small beds as a substitute : after the seed is sown 
and the ground well raked, take a board (or boards) the 
whole length of the bed, lay them flat on the ground, begin- 



GENERAL REMARKS. 15 

ning at one edge of the bed, walk the whole length of the 
bed, this will press the soil on the seed, then shift the boards 
till you have thus gone over the whole bed. In the absence 
of boards, tread in the seed with your feet, or strike on the 
beds with the back of your spade or shovel. 

If it be necessary at any time to sow seeds in dry weather, 
it is recommended to soak the seeds in water mixed with 
sulphur. This practice, with attentive watering, will cause 
the seed to vegetate speedily. 

If it should be requisite to transplant any thing when the 
ground is dry, the transplanting should be always done as 
soon as the earth is fresh turned over, and the roots of the 
plants should be steeped in mud made of rich compost, 
before they are set out. 

I have, in most cases, recommended seeds to be sown in 
drills drawn from eight to twelve inches apart, in preference 
to sowing broadcast, because the weeds can be more easily 
destroyed by means of a small hoe ; and which, properly 
used, greatly promotes the growth of young plants. 

The following table may be useful to the gardener in 
showing the number of plants, or trees, that may be raised 
on an acre of ground, when planted at any of the under- 
mentioned distances. 

Distance apart. No. of Plants. Distance apart. ' No. of Plants. 

1 foot 43,560 9 feet 537 

ljfeet 19,360 12 feet 302 

2 feet 10,890 15 feet 193 

2£ feet 6,969 18 feet ... " 134 

3 feet 4,840 21 feet 98 

4 feet 2,722 24 feet 75 

5 feet 1,742 27 feet 59 

6 feet 1,210 30 feet 48 

The preceding table may serve as a guide to such as are 
not expert in arithmetic, in laying out a garden, as it shews 
at one view many proportions of an acre of land, in squares 
of different dimensions. The last line, for instance, shows, 
that if forty-eight trees be planted on an acre, each thirty 



16 GENERAL REMARKS. 

feet apart, that there may be forty-eight beds of thirty feet 
square, or thirty beds of forty-eight feet square, formed from 
the same quantity of land. An allowance of about one- 
eighth must, however, be made from the above calculation 
for walks and paths. 

The table may also serve to show the gardener how to 
dispose of any given quantity of manure, that may be allot- 
ted for an acre of ground. If, for instance, it requires three 
hundred and two trees to plant an acre, when placed twelve 
feet from each other, it will require as many heaps of manure 
to cover the same quantity of ground, if dropped the same 
distance apart. It therefore follows, that if one hundred loads 
be allowed to the acre, each load must be divided into three 
heaps. If seventy-five loads only be allowed, every load 
must be divided into four heaps, and so on in proportion to 
the quantity allowed. But if the gardener should choose to 
drop his heaps, five paces, or fifteen feet apart, he may 
make such distributions of his loads as to have one hundred 
and ninety-three heaps on the acre of land ; in which case, 
by dividing each load into four heaps, he will require only 
forty-eight loads to cover the acre, and he may decrease the 
quantity still more, by allowing greater distances from heap 
to heap, or by dividing his loads into smaller proportions, 
so as to accommodate himself to whatever quantity of ma- 
nure he may allot to any given quantity of ground. 

As it may not be generally known that some species of 
seeds are apt to lose their vegetative qualities much sooner 
than others, the following hints are subjoined as some rule 
for the gardener's government, provided the seeds are care- 
fully preserved, and not exposed to excess of heat, air, or 
dampness : — 

Parsnip, Rhubarb, and other light scale like seeds, cannot 
be safely trusted after they are a year old. 

Beans and Peas of different species, Capsicum, Carrot, 
Cress, Leek, Nasturtium, Okra, Onion, Salify, Scorzonera, 
and small Herb seeds in general, may be kept two years. 

Artichoke, Asparagus, Egg-plant, Endive, Fetticus, Let- 
tuce, Mustard, Parsley, Skirret and Spinach seed, may with 
care be preserved three years. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 17 

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage,Celery, Kale,Radish, and 
Turnip seed, will keep four years, if properly .attended to. 

Beet, Cucumber, Gourd, Melon, Pumpkin and Squash, 
also Burnet, Chervil, and Sorrel seeds, have been known to 
grow freely when five and even seven years old ; but it is 
not prudent to venture seed in the garden, of the soundness 
of which we are not certain. 

In order to put such on their guard as may attempt to 
raise seeds either for their own use or for the market, I 
would observe that great care is necessary, as it is an 
indubitable fact, that if seeds of similar species be raised 
near each other, degeneracy will be the consequence ; it is, 
therefore, difficult for any one man to raise all sorts of seeds 
good and true to their kind, in any one garden. 

If roots of any kind become defective, they are unfit for 
seed, as the annexed fact will show. I once planted for seed 
some beautiful orange-coloured roots of Carrots, but as they 
had been previously grown with some of a lemon-colour, 
they produced seed of a mixed and spurious breed, and as 
this is not a solitary instance of degeneracy from the like 
cause, I have come to the conclusion, that, as in the animal 
frame, so it is in the vegetable system — disorders very 
frequently lay dormant from one generation to another, and 
at length break out with all their vigour ; I would therefore 
advise seed growers not to attempt to '•' bring a clean thing 
out of an unclean," but if they find a mixture of varieties 
amongst their seed roots, to reject the whole, or they will 
infallibly have spurious seeds, 

T« Bridgeman, 



2* 



3 A D A & ® (B 

&c. &c. 



ARTICHOKE. 

Artichaut. Cynara. 



VARIETIES. 

Cynara scclymus, or French. | Cynara Hortensis, or Globe. 

The garden Artichoke, a native of the South of Europe, 
is much cultivated for the London and Paris markets. It 
is a perennial plant, producing from the root annually 
its large squamose heads, in full growth, in June or July, 
until October or November. The Globe Artichoke, which 
produces large globular heads, is best for general culture, 
the heads being considerably larger, and the eatable parts 
more thick and plump. 

Both sorts may be raised from the seed, or young suckers 
taken from old plants in the spring. A plantation of 
Artichokes will continue to produce good heads six or seven 
years, and sometimes longer ; but it must be observed, that if 
a supply of this delicious vegetable be required throughout 
the season, a small plantation should be made from suckers 
every spring, for a successive crop, as the young plants will 
continue to produce their heads in perfection, after the crops 
of the old standing ones are over. 

The most likely way to obtain a supply of Artichokes 
from seed, is to sow the seed in the latter end of March, or 
early in April, in a bed of good rich earth, or it may 
be planted in drills one inch deep, and about twelve inches 
a part. The ground should be light and moist, not such as 
is apt to become bound up by heat, or that in consequence of 
too large a porportion of sand, is likely to become violently 
hot in summer, for this is extremely injurious to these 



AKTICHORE. 



19 



plants After the plants are up, they should be kept free from 
weeds, and the earth often loosened around them. 

The business of transplanting may be performed in cloudy 
or wet weather, at any time after the plants are from nine to 
twelve inches high. Having fixed upon a proper soil and 
situation, lay on it a good quantity of rotten dung, and trench 
the ground one good spade or eighteen inches deep, incor- 
porating the manure therewith ; this being done, take up the 
plants, and after shortening their tap roots a little, and 
dressing their leaves, plant them with a dibble, in rows five 
feet asunder, and two feet plant from plant in the row, 
leaving part of their green tops above ground, and the 
hearts of the plants free from any earth over them, and 
give each plant a little water to settle the roots. 

The winter dressing of Artichokes is an important opera- 
tion; on it depends much of their future success. This should 
not be given them as long as the season continues mild, that 
they may have all possible advantage of growth, and be 
gradually inured to the increasing cold weather ; but it 
should not be deferred to the setting in of hard frost, lest 
the entire work be lost. 

In the first place, cut all the large leaves close to the 
ground, leaving the small ones which rise from the hearts 
of the plants ; after this, line and mark out a trench in the 
middle, between each row, from fourteen to sixteen inches 
wide, presuming that the rows are five feet apart, as directed. 
Then lightly dig the surface of the beds from trench to 
trench, burying the weeds, and as you proceed, gather the 
earth around the crowns of the plants to the height of about 
six inches, placing it in gently between the young rising 
leaves, without burying them entirely under it; this done, dig 
the trenches one spade deep, and distribute the earth equally 
between and on each side of the plants, so as to level the 
ridges, giving them at the same time a neat rounding form ; 
finish, by casting up with a shovel the loose earth out of the 
bottom of the trenches evenly over the ridges, in order that 
the water occasioned by heavy rains, &c. may immediately 
run off; on which account the trenches ought to have a 
gentle declivity, as the lodgment of water about the roots 



20 ARTICHOKK. 

in winter, is the greatest evil and danger they have to en- 
counter, even greater than the most severe frosts we are 
subject to. 

The beds are to remain so, until there is an appearance of 
hard frost, when they should be covered with light dung, litter, 
leaves of trees, or the like, the better to preserve the crowns 
and roots from its rigour. In this manner, the roots will 
remain in perfect safety all the winter. As soon as the very 
severe frosts are over, the beds must be uncovered, and when 
you perceive the young shoots begin to appear above ground, 
or rather one or two inches up, then, and not before, proceed 
to levelling down the beds into the alleys or trenches, round- 
ing them in a neat manner ; then dig in the short manure and 
loosen all the earth around the plants ; at the same time, 
examine the number of shoots arising on each stool or root, 
selecting three of the strongest and healthiest-looking on 
every stool to remain ; all above that number are to be 
slipped off close to the roots with the hand, unless you 
want such to make new plantations with, in which case any 
extra number for that purpose are to remain on the mother 
plants, until they are about eight or ten inches high from 
their roots-, or junction with the old plants, when they are to 
be slipped off, and planted in a bed prepared in the same 
manner as directed for the young plants, taking care at the 
same time to close the earth about the crowns of the roots, 
and drawing it a little up to the remaining suckers. 

Observe, the spring dressing is to be given when the 
plants are in the above-described state, whether that happens 
in February, March or April, occasioned by the difference 
of climate, or the earliness or lateness of the spring. 

The gardeners, near Loudon, generally take off the side 
suckers, or small Artichokes, when they are about the size 
of a hen's egg. These meet with a ready sale in the markets, 
and the principal heads that are left are always larger and 
more handsome. The maturity of a full-grown Artichoke is 
apparent by the opening of the scales ; and it should always 
be cut off before the flower appears in the centre ; the stem 
should be cut close to the ground at the same time. 

Artichokes are esteemed as a luxury by epicures. To 



ASPARAGUS. 21 

have them in perfection, they should be thrown into cold 
water as soon as gathered, and after having been soaked and 
well washed, put into the boiler when the water is hot, with 
a little salt, and kept boiling until tender, which generally 
takes, for full grown Artichokes, from an hour and a half to 
two hours. When taken up, drain and trim them ; then 
serve them up with melted butter, pepper, salt, and such 
other condiment as may best suit the palate. 



ASPARAGUS. 

Asperge. Asparagus officinalis. 



VARIETIES. 



Gravesen<3. Large Battersea. 

Large White Reading. J Large German, or Giant. 

This plant is a native of cold climates, and is found grow- 
ing wild in Russia and Poland, where it is eaten by the cattle 
as grass. It will endure the severity of our winters, and 
produce its buds, when the weather gets mild ; but as 
garden products are generally scarce after a hard winter, the 
gardener who studies his interest will make the most of the 
spring season, and raise all he can before the markets 
become glutted ; to this end, he is recommended to prepare 
for forcing this vegetable, as soon as the coldest of the 
winter is past. — (See article on Forcing Vegetables.) 

Asparagus plants may be raised by sowing the seeds 
in the fall as soon as ripe, or in March, and the early part 
of April. It requires some of the best ground in the garden. 
The seed may be sown in drills, ten or twelve inches asun- 
der, and covered half an inch with light earth. "When the 
plants are up, they will need a careful hoeing, and if culti- 
vated, and kept free from weeds, they will be large enough 
to transplant when they are a year old. 

A plantation of Asparagus, if the beds are properly dressed 
every year, will continue to produce good buds for twenty 
years or more. 

New plantations of Asparagus may be made in the months 
of March and April. The ground for the bed must not be 
wet, not too strong or stubborn, but such as is moderately 



22 ASPARAGUS. 

light and pliable, so as it will readily fall to pieces in digging 
or raking, and in a situation that enjoys the full sun. It 
should have a large supply of good rotten dung, three 
or four inches thick, and then be regularly trenched 
wo spades deep, and the dung buried equally in each trench 
twelve or fifteen inches below the surface. When this 
trenching is done, lay on two or three inches of well rotted 
manure all over the surface, and dig the ground over again 
eight or ten inches deep, mixing this top dressing, and 
incorporating it well with the earth. The groun dbeing 
thus prepared and laid level, divide it into beds, allowing 
five feet for every four rows of plants, with alleys two feet 
and a half wide between each bed. 

Strain your line along the bed six inches from the edge ; 
then, with a spade, cut out a small trench or drill close 
to the line, about six inches deep, making that side next the 
line nearly upright, and when one trench is opened, plant 
that before you open another, placing the plants upright ten 
or twelve inches distance in the row, and let every row 
be twelve inches apart. 

The plants must not be placed flat in the bottom of the 
trench, but nearly upright against the back of it, and so that 
the crown of the plants may also stand upright, and two or 
three inches below the surface of the ground, spreading their 
roots somewhat regularly against the back of the trench, 
and at the same time drawing a little earth up against them 
with the hand as you place them, just to fix the plants in 
their due position until the row is planted; when one row is 
thus placed, with a rake or hoe draw the earth into the trench 
over the plants, and then proceed to open another drill or 
trench, as before directed ; and fill and cover it in in the same 
manner, and so on till the whole is planted ; then let the 
surface of the beds be raked smooth and clear from stones. 

Some gardeners, with a view to have extra large heads, 
place their plants sixteen inches apart in the rows, instead 
of twelve, and by planting them in the quincunx manner, 
that is, by commencing the second row eight inches from 
the end of the first ; the third opposite the first ; and the 
fourth even with the second, the plants will form rhomboidal 



ASPARAGUS. 23 

squares, instead of rectangular ones, and every plant will 
thus hare room to expand its roots and leaves luxuriantly. 

Winter Dressing of Asparagus Beds. 
About the beginning of November, if the stalks of your 
Asparagus turn yellow, which is a sign of their having 
finished their growth for the season, cut them down close to 
the earth, carry them oft* the ground, and clear the beds 
carefully from weeds. 

Asparagus beds must have an annual dressing of good ma- 
nure ; let it be laid equally over the beds, two or three inches 
thick, after which, with a fork made for the purpose, (which 
should have three flat tines,) dig in the dung quite down to 
the crowns of the plants, by which means the roots will be 
greatly benefitted ; as the winter rains will wash the manure 
down amongst them. It is the practice with some gardeners 
to dig the alleys at every autumn dressing, and to cover the 
beds with the soil so taken out ; this may be done for the 
first two years after the beds are made, but not afterwards ; 
as, when the plants are in full growth, their roots and crowns 
extend into the alleys, and the digging them out frequently 
destroys plants, or renders them too w r eak to produce buds 
in perfection. The beds will be greatly benefitted if covered 
to the depth of several inches with leaves, sea- weed, or long 
litter from the livery stablest 

The seedling Asparagus should also have a slight dressing, 
that is, to clear the bed from weeds, and then to spread an 
inch or two in depth of light dung over it, to defend 
the crown of the plants from frost. 

Spring Dressing of the Beds. 
This work should be done from about the latter end of 
March, to the middle of April, just before the buds begin to 
rise. After clearing away all the long litter, or whatever 
may incumber the ground, spread the short dung over the 
whole surface, and dig it in : if the alleys be dug at the sam* 
time, it will be very beneficial to the plants. Care must be 
taken at this season not to wound the crowns with the tines 
of the fork, but forking the beds should not be neglected ; 
as the admitting of sun and rain into the ground, induces 



24 ASPARAGUS. 

the plants to throw up buds of superior size ; to promote such 
a desirable object, the ground should be kept clear of weeds 
at all seasons, as these greatly impoverish, and frequently 
smother the plants. 

The gardeners in England raise Asparagus in great per- 
fection ; and sometimes have buds weighing from three to 
five ounces each. Loudon says, in his Encyclopaedia of 
gardening, that one grower alone has eighty acres entirely 
under this crop for the London markets. 

Asparagus plants will not produce buds large enough to 
cut for general use, in less than three years from the time 
of planting, but in the fourth year, when the shoots are 
three or four inches high, they will bear extensive cutting, 
which should however be discontinued when no large buds are 
thrown up. The best way of cutting, is to slip the knife down 
perpendicularly close to each shoot, and cut it off slantingly, 
about three or four inches within the ground, taking care 
not to wound any young buds coming from the same root, 
for there are always several shoots advancing in different 
stages of growth. 

The above directions are intended for family gardens. 
Those who may wish to raise Asparagus in large quantities 
for market, may prepare the ground with a plough, and 
plant two rows in each bed, which may be carried to any 
length required. If several beds are intended, they may be 
planted in single rows four or five feet apart, in order that 
the plough may be worked freely between them. Frequent 
ploughing will cause the roots to spread, so as to widen the 
beds, and the winter dressing may be performed in a great 
measure with the plough. After the Asparagus is cut, the 
ground between the beds may be ploughed, and planted 
with Cabbage, Potatoes, or Beans, &c. 

Asparagus is considered a wholesome vegetable, and 
should not be kept long after it is gathered ; after being 
well washed, it may be tied in bundles of about a dozen 
buds each, and boiled in water, seasoned with salt, until 
tender, which will be in about twenty minutes ; take it up 
before it loses its true colour and flavour, and serve up on 
toasted bread, with melted butter, &c. 



BEANS. 25 

BEANS. (English Dwarfs.) 
Feve de Marais. Viciafaba. 

VARIETIES. 



Early Mazagan. 
Early Lisbon. 
Early Long Pod. 
Large Windsor. 
Large Toker, 
Broad Spanish. 



Sandwich Bean. 
Green Genoa. 
Dwarf Cluster. 
"White Blossom. 
Green Nonpareil- 
Sword Long Pod. 



The principal cause of these garden products not succeed- 
ing well in this country, is the summer heat overtaking 
them before they are podded, causing the blossom to drop 
off prematurely ; to obviate this difficulty, they should be 
planted as early in the year as possible. They are gene- 
rally planted in England, from October to April, for early 
crops, and from that time to July, for late crops. It some- 
times happens that autumn plantings are injured by. the 
extremity of their winters, but they never miss haying an 
average crop. 

In order to insure success here, I recommend those 
who are desirous of obtaining a tolerable supply of these 
vegetables, to plant them early, as they will be deficient in 
quality, as well as in quantity, on the approach of warm 
weather. In January, or early in February, a few for 
early crops may be sown, about two inches deep, in boxes 
of earth placed in a light cellar, or in earth on the floor, 
and afterwards transplanted, in rows from thirty inches to 
three feet asunder, according to the size and kind, and the 
beans two or three inches distant in the rows. This method 
is considered by some as preferable to the general practice 
of planting them in the place where they are to stand, as 
by transplanting they generally bear several days sooner. 
See article on forcing Broad Beans. 

The Mazagan and Lisbon are the earliest. The White- 
olossomed Bean is very delicious, and boils much greener 
than any other kind ; but the Genoa bears the heat of our 
climate better than either of the others, and therefore is the 
most suitable for late crops. ??he Long-podded Bean is 
very good, and bears well; but the Windsor, Sandwich 

3 



26 BEANS. 

Toker, and Broad Spanish kinds, are more esteemed than 
any other. The Dwarf Cluster Bean is a great bearer, 
never grows above a foot or fourteen inches high, and may 
be planted in rows either in beds or borders, the rows to be 
about two feet asunder ; and as this kind branches out 
considerably from the root, the Beans must be planted in 
single rows, and five or six inches distant from one another. 

A strong clayey soil is the most suitable ; but they often 
do well in moderately light low ground, provided it be well 
trodden or rolled, after the beans are planted. 

If all the different varieties are planted at one time, they 
will come into bearing in regular succession, according to 
their difFerent degrees of earliness — and plantings may be 
repeated every ten days in March and April — for it is only 
from those that are planted early that any tolerable produce 
may be expected in the United States, especially in the 
Middle and Southern parts. 

As soon as the Beans are three or four inches high, they 
will need a careful hoeing, and if some earth be drawn up 
to their stems, three or four times in the course of their 
growth, it will greatly refresh and strengthen them. 

When they arrive at full bloom, and the lower pods begin 
to set, the tops may be broken oft*. If done at this time, it 
will promote the swelling of the pods, as well as their early 
maturity ; for having no advancing tops to nourish, the 
whole effort of the root will go to the support of the fruit. 
Those who expect to have their Beans in perfection should 
watch their progress, and have them gathered while the 
pods are green ; as they are much better flavoured when 
about half their full size, than when they are older and 
become black-eyed. 

Broad Beans are particularly subject to a green bug 
•Tobacco water, or salt water, will sometimes destroy them ; 
but the most certain way is to watch their first appearance, 
and to pick off that part on which they first settle, and burn 
it ; or if such plants be cut down close to the ground, they 
will produce fresh shoots which may bear a good crop. 

One quart of these Beans will be required for every 



BEANS. 27 

sixty feet of row, allowing the smallest sorts to be planted 
about two inches apart, and the largest four inches. 

Broad Beans should be gathered young, and shelled 
while fresh. After having been washed, let them be 
boiled in plenty of water, with a little salt and a bunch of 
green parsley. They take from thirty to forty minutes 
boiling, according to age, and may be served up with 
melted butter, gravy, &c; but they are very good when 
cooked and eaten with fat pork, or good old-fashioned 
Hampshire bacon. 



BEANS. (Kidney Dwarf.) 
Haricot. Phaseolus vulgaris. 



VARIETIES. 



Early Mohawk. 
Early Dwarf Cluster. 
Early Yellow Six Weeks. 
Early Dun-Coloured, or tluaker. 
Early China Dwarf. 
Half Moon China. 
Early Rob Roy. 
Early Black Dwarf. 



Large White Kidney Dwarf. 
White Cranberry Dwarf. 
Red Cranberry Dwarf. 
Yellow Cranberry Do. 
Warrington, or Marrow. 
Refugee, or Thousand to One. 
White Cutlass Bean of Carolina. 
Royal Dwarf Kidney, or French. 



These kinds of Beans are natives of India and South 
America, and the varieties being all excellent, I shall leave 
my readers to choose for themselves. The earliest will 
come to perfection in from six to eight weeks after plant- 
ing. Some of the later varieties will keep longer in bearing, 
and are esteemed by some on that account. These, with 
some of the earliest, may be planted in the months of 
May and June. If a regular succession of young Beans be 
wanted throughout the summer, some of the varieties 
should be planted every two weeks, from the last week in 
April until the beginning of August. These Beans require 
a light rich soil, and may be planted in hills (three or four 
in a hill) or drills about two inches deep, and the Beans 
two or three inches from each other ; the drills may be from 
two to three feet apart. The Refugees are best planted in 
hills. As the Beans progress in growth, let them be care- 



28 BEANS. 

fully hoed, drawing the earth up to their stems at the same 
time, and they will be soon fit for the table. 

Many gardeners, anxious to have Beans early, are apt to 
begin planting too soon in the season, and very frequently 
lose their first crops. It should be recollected, that these 
Beans are next to Cucumbers and Melons for tenderness, 
and will always grow quicker and yield better, if the 
planting be delayed until settled warm weather. The Early 
Mohawk is the hardiest, and may sometimes succeed well, 
if planted about the middle of April. 

One quart of Kidney Beans will plant from three hundred 
and fifty to four hundred hills, according to the size of the 
Beans, allowing four Beans to each hill, or from two 
hundred and thirty to two hundred and sixty feet of row, 
allowing six Beans to every foot. 

These Beans should not be suffered to get old and tough 
before they are gathered ; be careful in trimming them, to 
strip off the strings ; then slit them down in the middle, and 
cut or break them across ; and, in order to preserve their 
greenness, soak them in salted water for a short time, then 
put them into the water while boiling, which should be 
previously seasoned with salt. When they are tender, 
which will be in from fifteen to twenty minutes, take them 
up, and drain them through a colander, in order to render 
them capable of absorbing a due share of gravy, melted 
butter, &c. 



BEANS. (Pole or Running.) 
Haricots a rames. 
Phaseolus Limensis. 

varieties. 

Large White Lima. | Carolina, Lima, or Sky. 

Phaseolus Multijlorus. 

VARIETIES. 



Scarlet Runners. 
White Dutch Runners. 
Dutch Case Knife, or Princess. 
Asparagus, or Yard Long. 



London Horticultural. 
French Bicolour. 
Red Cranberry. 
White Cranberry. 



The Beans of the latter species may be planted the latter 



BEANS. 29 

end of April, and in May and June, either in hills three 
feet distant from each other, or in drills about two inches 
deep, and the beans two or three inches apart in the drills. 
The poles should be eight or ten feet long, and may be 
fixed in the ground before the Beans are planted. 

The varieties of Lima Beans should not be planted in 
the open ground until the second week in May, unless the 
season be very favourable, and the ground warm. As these 
Beans are apt to get injured by cold and damp weather, let 
six or eight be planted half an inch deep round each pole, 
and afterwards thinned, leaving three or four good plants 
in a hill, which hills should be full four feet distance from 
each other, every way. 

The soil for running Beans should be the same as for 
Dwarfs, except the Lima, which require richer ground than 
any of the other sorts. 

If any varieties are wanted before the ordinary seasons, 
they may be planted in flower pots in April, and placed in 
a greenhouse or garden frame, and being transplanted in 
May, with the balls of earth entire, will come into bearing 
ten or fourteen days earlier than those which, in the first 
instance, are planted in the natural ground. 

It will require about a quart of Lima Beans to plant one 
hundred hills. A quart of the smallest sized Pole Beans 
will plant three hundred hills and upwards, or about two 
hundred and fifty feet of row, and the largest runners will 
go about as far as the Lima Beans. 

Lima Beans should be shelled while fresh, and boiled in 
plenty of water until tender, which generally takes from 
fifteen to twenty minutes. Some cook the ripe Beans in 
the Winter, in which case they should be soaked in soft 
water for a few hours, and then put into the water cold, and 
boiled until tender, with a little salt ; but salted meat 
being boiled with them answers the same purpose, and 
makes them sweeter and more wholesome. The mode of 
cooking the other sorts, is the same as the Kidney Dwarfs. 



3» 



30 BEET. 

BEET. 

Betterave. Beta vulgaris, 

VARIETIES. 



Early Biood Turnip-rooted. 
Early Long Blood. 
Extra Dark Blood. 
Yellow Turnip-rooted. 



Early Scarcity. 
Mangel Wurtzel. 
French Sugar, or Amber. 
Sir John Sinclair's. 



Beets, in their several varieties, are biennial, and the 
best blood-coloured are much cultivated for the sake of 
their roots, which are excellent when cooked, and very- 
suitable for pickling after being boiled tender ; they also, 
when sliced, make a beautiful garnish for the dish, and the 
young plants are an excellent substitute for Spinach. 

The Mangel Wurtzel, Scarcity, and Yellow Turnip 
Beets, are cultivated for cattle. Domestic animals eat the 
leaves and roots with great avidity. They are excellent 
food for swine, and also for milch cows ; and possess the 
quality of making them give a large quantity of the best 
flavoured milk. 

A small bed of the earliest and most esteemed kinds of 
Beets, may be planted in good rich early ground towards 
the end of March, or in the first week of April, which being 
well attended to, will produce good roots in June. 

Draw Drills a foot apart, and from one to two inches 
deep ; drop the seed along the drills about two inches from 
each other, and cover them with the earth. When the 
plants are up strong, thin them to the distance of six or 
eight inches from each other in the rows. The ground 
should be afterwards hoed deep round the plants, and kept 
free from weeds. 

If the planting of Beet seed, for general crops, be 
delayed until May or June, the roots will be much larger 
and better than those from the earlier planting, which, from 
being frequently stunted by the various changes of weather, 
become tough, stringy ,*and of unhandsome shape. In case 
of failing crops, Beet seed planted the first week in July, 
will sometimes produce large handsome roots for winter 
use. 



BORECOLE, OR KALE. 31 

The most suitable ground for Beets, is that which has 
been well manured for previous crops, and will require no 
fresh manure, provided it be well pulverized. 

It is always best to thin Beets while young. If the tops 
are used as a vegetable, they should not be left too long for 
this purpose, or they will greatly injure the roots of those 
that are to stand. Beds that are to stand through the sum- 
mer, should be kept clean by repeated hoeings ; and the 
roots intended for winter use should be taken up in Octo- 
ber, or early in November, and stowed away as directed in 
the calendar for those months, 

Allowing Beet seed to be planted on the gardening plan, 
it will require at the rate of ten pounds for an acre of land, 
which is two pounds and a half for a rood, and one ounce 
for every perch, pole, or rod. If cultivated on the field sys- 
tem, one half the quantity of seed will be sufficient, or even 
less, if sown regular. If it be an object with the gardener 
to save his seed, he may plant two or three seeds in each 
spot where a plant is required, and thin them as before 
directed. 

It may be necessary to add , that one pound of beet seed 
will measure about two quarts, and as each capsule con- 
tains four or five small seeds, thinning out the surplus plants 
is indispensable to the production of good roots. 



BORECOLE, OR KALE. 

Chou frise vert. Brassica oleracea, etc. 



VARIETIES. 



Green Curled, or Scotch, 
Dwarf Brown, or German. 
Purple Fringed. 



Jerusalem, or Buda. 
Cesarean Kale. 
Thousand-headed Cabbage. 



There are several sub-varieties of this genus of plants 
besides those above specified, most ofwhich have large open 
heads, with curled wrinkled leaves. The dwarf curled, or 
finely fringed sorts, are much cultivated in Europe for the 
table ; and the coarse and tall-growing are considered 
profitable for cattle. The thousand.headed cabbage, and 



32 BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 

Cesarean kale, grow from three to five feet high, and branch 
out from the stem, yielding an abundant supply of leaves, 
and sprouts in the winter and spring. 

For the garden, these several varieties may be treated in 
every respect as winter Cabbages. The seeds may be sown 
about the middle of May, and the plants set out in the month 
of July, in good rich ground. They are never so delicious 
as when rendered tender by smart frosts ; they are valuable 
plants to cultivate, particularly in the more Southerly States, 
as they will there be in the greatest perfection during the 
winter months ; they will also, if planted in a gravelly soil, 
and in a sheltered warm situation, bear the winters of the 
Middle States ; and may be kept in great perfection in the 
Eastern States, if taken up before the frost sets in with 
much severity, and placed in trenches up to their lower 
leaves, and then covered with straw, or other light covering : 
the heads may be cut oft' as they are required for use ; and 
in the spring, the stems being raised up, will produce an 
abundance of delicious greens. 

One ounce of good Borecole seed will produce about four 
thousand plants, and may be sown in a border four feet by 
ten, or thereabouts. 



BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 

Chou de Bruxelles ajets. Brassiea olemcea. 

This plant frequently grows from three to five feet high, 
and produces from the stem small heads resembling cab- 
bages in miniature, each being from one to two inches in 
diameter. The top of the plant resembles the Savoy, when 
planted late. The sprouts are used as winter greens, and 
they become very tender when touched with the frost. 

The seed may be sown about the middle of May, in the 
same manner as Borecole, and the plants set out with a 
dibble early in July. The subsequent treatment must be 
in every respect as for Borecole. 

It may be necessary to add, that in cooking theie sprouts, 



BROCCOLI. 33 

as also Kale, Colewort, and greens in general, they should 
be put into hot water, seasoned with salt, and kept boiling 
briskly until tender. If it be an object to preserve their 
natural colour, put a small lump of pearlash into the water, 
which also makes the coarser kinds of cabbage more ten- 
der in the absence of salted meat. 



BROCCOLI. 

Chou Brocoli. Brassica oleracea Italica. 



VARIETIES. 



Early White. 
Early Dwarf Purple. 
Early Grpen. 
Dwarf Brown. 
Large Late Purple. 



Large Purple Cape. 
White Cape, or Cauliflower. 
Sulphur Cape. 
Branching Purple. 
Large Late Green. 



The several varieties of Broccoli and Cauliflower may be 
justly ranked among the greatest luxuries of the garden. 
They need only be known in order to be esteemed. The 
Broccoli produces heads, consisting of a lump of rich seedy 
pulp, like the Cauliflower, only that some are of a green 
colour, some purple, some brown, &c. and the white kinds 
so exactly resemble the true Cauliflower, as to be scarcely 
distinguished either in colour or taste. 

Broccoli is quite plentiful throughout England the greater 
part of the year, and it is raised with as little trouble as 
Cabbages are here. The mode of raising the Purple Cape 
Broccoli is now generally understood in this part of Ame- 
rica ; but the cultivation of the other kinds has been nearly 
abandoned, on account of the ill success attending former 
attempts to bring them to perfection. In some of the South- 
ern States, where the winters are not more severe than in 
England, they will stand in the open ground, and continue 
to produce their fine heads from November to April. In 
the middle, and especially in the Eastern States, if the seeds 
of the late kinds be sown in April, and the earlier kinds in 
May, in the open ground, and treated in the same manner 
as Cauliflower plants, it would be the most certain method 



34 BROCCOLI. 

of obtaining large and early flowers ; but as only a part of 
these crops can be expected to come to perfection before the 
approach of winter, the remainder will have to be taken up, 
laid in by the roots, and covered with earth up to the lower 
leaves. • 

Those who are desirous of obtaining Broccoli and Cauli- 
flower in any quantity, so as to have all the different varieties 
in succession, should have places erected similar to some 
of our greenhouses : the back and roof may be made of 
refuse lumber, which being afterwards covered with fresh 
stable dung, will keep out the frost. The place allotted for 
Cape Broccoli and Cauliflower should have a glazed roof to 
face the south — the sashes must be made to take off in mild 
weather, but they should be always kept shut in severe cold 
weather, and covered with mats, or boards, litter, &c, so 
effectually as to keep out the frost. 

The hardy kinds of Broccoli may be preserved without 
glass, by having shutters provided to slide over the front in 
extreme cold weather, which maybe covered over with fresh 
stable dung or other litter. If these plants get frozen, it will 
be necessary to keep the full power of the sun from coming 
on them until they be thawed ; this may be done by shaking 
a little straw on the bed as they lay. It may perhaps be 
not generally understood that the sudden transition from 
cold to heat, is more destructive to vegetables than the cold 
itself. If plants of any kind get frozen, and cannot be 
screened from the sudden rays of the sun, they should be 
well watered as the air gets warm, and before they begin to 
thaw ; this will draw out the frost, and may be the means 
of saving the plants. 

The proper time for sowing the seed of the Purple Cape 
Broccoli, is from the tenth to the twentieth of May : those 
who intend to provide a place for the winter keeping of the 
other kinds, may sow seeds of the most esteemed varieties 
at the same time, or in two or three separate sowings, a week 
apart. 

In order to insure good stout plants, let the seed at this 
season be sown in a moderately shaded border. It is best 
sown in shallow drills, drawn three or four inches apart, in 



35 CAULIFLOWER. 

which case one ounce of seed will occupy a border of about 
four feet in width by twelve in length, and produce about 
four thousand strong plants. 

When the plants are of sufficient size, they should be 
transplanted into extraordinary rich ground, which should 
be brought previously into good condition. This being 
done, plant them in rows two feet and a half apart, and two 
feet distance in the rows. As soon as they have taken root, 
give the ground a deep hoeing, and repeat this two or three 
times in the course of their growth, drawing some earth 
around their stems at the same time. 

Some of the varieties of Cape Broccoli, if attended to as 
directed, will come to perfection in September and October ; 
the other kinds will produce their heads in regular succes- 
sion throughout the winter and spring months, according to 
their different degrees of earliness, provided an artificial 
climate be provided for them. These, of course, will have 
to be taken up early in October, and lain in carefully with 
the roots and stems covered with earth as far as their lower 
leaves. Those who have not a place provided, may keep 
a few in frames, or in a light cellar ; but every gardener 
and country gentleman should have suitable places erected 
for a vegetable that yields such a delicious repast, at a time 
when other luxuries of the garden are comparatively out of 
our reach. 



CAULIFLOWER. 

Choufleue. JBrassica oleracea botrytis. 

VARIETIES. 

Early White. | Late White. 

Hardy Red, or purple Cauliflower. 

This is a first-rate vegetable : to obtain which, great 
pains must be taken in every stage of its growth, the 
extremes of heat and cold being very much against it. The 
seeds of the early kinds should be sown between the six- 
teenth and twenty-fourth of September, in a bed of clean 
rich earth. In about four or five weeks afterwards, the 



36 CAULIFLOWER. 

plants should be pricked out into another bed, at the 
distance of four inches from each other every way ; this 
bed should be encompassed with garden frames, covered 
with glazed sashes, and boards or shutters ; the plants 
should be watered and shaded a few days till they have 
taken root ; they will afterwards require light and air 
every mild day throughout the winter ; but the outsides of 
the frames must be so lined and secured, and the tops of the 
beds so covered as to keep out all frost. 

They should be well attended to until the time of trans- 
planting in the spring ; and those who have not hand or 
bell glasses, so as to enable them to set some out by the 
latter end of March, should have a frame ready about the 
last week in February, in order that they may be trans- 
planted to the distance of eight or nine inches apart ; this 
would prevent them from buttoning or growing up weak ; 
if this be not done, some of the strongest plants should be 
taken out of the beds and planted in flower pots, which 
may be afterwards placed in a frame or greenhouse, until 
the weather be warm and settled, which may be expected 
soon after the middle of April. They should be then 
turned out with the balls of earth entire, and planted in a 
bed of the richest earth in the garden, at the distance of 
two feet and a half from each other every way ; the 
residue may be taken up from the frame the last week in 
April, or earlier if the season proves mild, by means of a 
garden trowel, and planted as above. The plants should be 
afterwards well attended to by hoeing the ground deep 
around them and bringing the earth gradually up to the 
stems, so as to push them forward before the approach of 
warm woather. When the soil has been drawn up to the 
plants some little time, fork the ground between the rows 
lightly over, which will promote the growth of the plants. 
They should be liberally supplied with water in dry 
weather ; those out of flower twice a week, and those in 
every other day, which will contribute to their producing 
ery large heads. As the flower heads appear, the larger 
leaves should be broken down over them to defend the m 
from the sun and rain, in order that the heads or pulps 
may be close, and of their natural colour. 



CAULIFLOWER, 37 

The Fall plants are generally allowed to succeed best ; 
but good Cauliflowers are sometimes produced from seed 
sown in a hot-bed towards the end of January, or early in 
February. Great pains must be taken to have the bed in 
good condition to receive the seed ; when the plants are up, 
they must have the air every mild day, and as they progress 
in growth, they should have as much air as possible, con- 
sistent with their preservation ; but the beds must be kept 
covered up every night, as long as there is any danger of 
frost. When the plants are three or four inches high, they 
must be pricked out three or four inches apart into another 
bed, and by the latter end of April they may be transplanted 
into the ground, and treated in every respect the same as 
the other. These plants, if well managed, will succeed 
very well, and those that do not flower by June, may make 
good heads in autumn. 

In the early part of May, Cauliflower seed may be sown 
in the open border, in drills, as recommended for Broccoli, 
and one ounce of seed will produce about four thousand 
good plants. These plants should be pricked out in June, 
and transplanted into good ground early in July, to flower 
in the Fall : those that are not likely to flower by the lait of 
October, should be taken up and provided for in the manner 
recommended for the Cape Broccoli. 

Cauliflower, and also Broccoli, should be gathered while 
the pulp is close and perfect. After having trimmed off 
some off their outside leaves, let them be boiled in plenty of 
water seasoned with salt, taking care to skim the pot, and 
also to ease the cover, so as not to confine the steam. Take 
them up as soon as the fork will enter the stems easily, 
which will be in from ten to twenty minutes, according to 
their size and, age ; drain them so as to make them sus- 
ceptible of absorbing a due proportion of gravy, melted 
butter, &c. This renders them a palatable and dainty dish. 



38 CABBAGE. 

CABBAGE. 

Chou. Brassica oleracea, etc. 



Early May. 
Early Screw. 
Early Dwarf Dutch. 
Early York. 
Early Sugarloaf. 
Early Emperor. 
Early Wellington. 
Early Heart-Shaped. 
Early Salisbury. 
Early London Battersea. 



VARIETIES. 

Late Battersea, or Drumhead. 
Large Bergen, or American. 
Late Flat German. 
Large Green Glazed. 
Large Late Drumhead. 
Red Dutch, for Pickling. 
Green Globe Savoy. 
Large Cape Savoy. 
Russian, a species of Savoy, 
Turnip rooted, in varieties. 



The early sorts of Spring Cabbage may be raised in 
various ways. Some sow the seeds between the tenth and 
twenty-fourth of September, pricked out and managed the' 
same as Cauliflower plants, only that they are more hardy, 
and may sometimes be kept through the winter, without 
sashes. Some prefer sowing the seed in a cold-bed, covered 
by a garden frame, with sashes. If this frame be placed on 
a warm border, and kept free from frost, and the seed of the 
early kinds sown the latter end of January, or early in 
February, these plants will be better than those raised in the 
fall ; as they will not be so liable to run to seed, and they 
will be more hardy, and full as early as those raised in hot- 
beds in the spring. Or, if a heap of fresh horse manure be 
deposited on the ground intended for the raising of early 
plants before the frost sets in — the same may be removed 
some mild day in January or February, and temporary 
frames made by driving stakes in the ground, and nailing 
planks or slabs thereto. The ground being then dug, the 
seed sown, and covered up with sashes, will soon produce 
plants in perfection. The frames should be well protected, 
by placing the dung around them, and covering the tops 
with mats, boards, &c. as directed for hot-beds in the calenr 
dar for February and March. 

It is customary with the Gardeners about New- York, to 
raise their plants in hot-beds. In order to do this, the beds 
should be prepared, as directed in a future page of this book, 
(see Index,) so as to be ready to receive the seed by the latter 



CABBAGE. 39 

end of February, or early in March. Plants thus produced, 
as well as those raised as before directed, will be fit to trans, 
plant about the middle of April, and should be carefully 
planted, with a suitable dibble, in good ground, from six- 
teen inches to -two feet apart, according to size and kind : 
these, by being hoed often, will produce good Cabbages in 
June. If seeds of the large early kinds be sown in a warm 
border, early in April, they will produce plants fit to trans- 
plant in May, which will make good Cabbages for summer 
use. 

The seed of Red Cabbage may be sown early in May, 
and those of Savoys and late Cabbage in general, may be 
sown at two or three different times, between the tenth and 
twenty-fifth of May, in fresh rich ground. The young plants 
will require to be watched at this season of the year, and if 
they are attacked by insects, recourse must be had to the 
ingredients recommended in the general directions ; these, 
if used every evening until the plants get strong, will bring 
them forward for transplanting in the second or third week 
in July. 

The most certain way of raising good strong plants in the 
summer season, is to sow the seed in a moderately shaded 
border, in shallow drills drawn three or four inches apart. 
One ounce of seed sown in this manner, will occupy a bor- 
der of about four feet in width by twelve in length, and 
produce about four thousand stout plants ; whereas if seed 
be sown broadcast, as is the usual custom, two ounces of 
seed may not produce so many good plants as the one ounce 
on the plan recommended. 

The Bergen, and other large kinds, should be transplanted 
in rows thirty inches asunder, and the plants about two feet 
apart in the rows ; the Savoys and smaller sorts may be 
placed from four to six inches nearer every way. Cabbage 
succeeds best in a fresh rich soil, and the ground should be 
deeply hoed, at least three times, during their growth. 

The Brassica Rapa, or Turnip Cabbage, produces its 
bulb or protuberance, on the stems above ground, immedi- 
ately under the leaves. It is eatable when young, or about 
the size of a garden turnip. 



40 COLEWORT, OR COLLARDS. 

The seed may be sown in April or May, and the plants 
afterwards treated the same as Cabbage, only that in earth- 
ing up the plants, you must be careful not to cover the 
globular part. 

They are much more hardy than Turnips. In England 
the bulbs often grow to upwards of twenty inches in circum- 
ference, and weigh from ten to twelve pounds. They are 
cultivated for the feeding of cows and sheep, as well as for 
table use ; in either case, they treat them as they do Cabba- 
ges, or sow them like Turnips, and afterwards hoe them out 
to proper distances. 

The Brassica Napus, or Turnip-rooted Cabbage, has an 
oblong thick root in the form of a Winter Radish ; it is ex- 
tremely hardy, and will survive very hard frosts ; the seeds 
should be sown in rich ground, and treated in every respect 
as Turnips, observing to thin the plants with the hoe to the 
distance of sixteen inches apart. Their roots will be much 
larger and better when treated in this way, than if trans- 
planted. 

The Brassica Napus, variety esculenta, is sometimes cul- 
tivated as a salad herb. It is held in great esteem by the 
French as a culinary vegetable, and is called the Navet, or 
French Turnip. In France, as well as in Germany, few 
great dinners are served up without it, in one shape or other. 



COLEWORT, OR COLLARDS. 

Chou vert. Brassica oleracea. 

This is a species of Cabbage which is eaten when young : 
it so nearly resembles the early kinds of Cabbage, that it is 
seldom cultivated.* The English frequently sow the seeds 
of early heading kinds of Cabbage, as a substitute, which 
being done at different seasons, enables them to procure a 
supply of fresh greens from their gardens every day in the 



* One ounce of Colewort seed will produce four thousand good plant?, if 
the seed-bed be well managed and protected from insects. See third and 
fourth paragraph of article Cabbage. 



CAHDOONS. 41 

year. This is not attainable here, on account of the ex- 
tremes of heat and cold ; but Collards would prove very 
Taluable and acceptable, in the event of an unfavourable 
season for fall Cabbage. 

If the seeds of Early York, Early Dutch, Dwarf, or 
Sugarloaf Cabbage, be sown in June, July and August, and 
transplanted as they become fit, into good ground, from fif* 
teen to eighteen inches apart, the first planting would make 
good heads for fall use ; and the plants of late sowings, if 
transplanted in September and October, in a warm border, 
would produce tender sweet*eating greens for use in the 
early part of the winter ; the latter plantings may be placed 
ten or twelve inches, plant from plant. These could be 
easily sheltered on the approach of severe weather, without 
being taken up. 



CARDOONS. 

Cardon. Cynara cardunculus. 

The Cardoon Artichoke,- a native of Candia, is much 
cultivated in Europe for culinary purposes, such as for 
salads, soups, stewings, &c. 

The stems of the leaves being thick and crisp, are the 
eatable parts, after being blanched. They are in perfection 
in autumn and winter. 

The seeds may be sown in a bed of rich earth in the 
month of April ; when the plants are up strong, they should 
be thinned to four or five inches distance, to prevent their 
becoming weak.* They may be transplanted in June, at 
the distance of four feet from one another every way ; ob- 
serve before planting, to dress their tops and roots the same 
as Celery. As they advance in growth, they are to be 
earthed up for blanching, keeping the leaves close together; 
this may be done with bass or matting, as practised with 
Endive ; they are afterwards to be earthed up gradually 



* One ounce of Cardoon Artichoke seed will produce upwards of six 
hundred plants, by careful cultivation. 

4* 



42 CARROT. 

from time to time, until whitened to a sufficient height. A3 
winter approaches, Cardoons must be taken up and laid 
away like Celery, or they may be preserved with sand in a 
cellar. 



CARROT. 

Carotte. Daucus carota. 



VARIETIES. 



Early Horn. 
Long Orange. 
Altringhara. 



c ( Long Lemon-coloured. 
1 \ Blood Red. 
£ (Long White. 



The Carrot is a native of Britain, and is common by the 
road sides, in many parts. As a culinary vegetable it is 
much used in soups and stews, and forms a dish with boiled 
beef, &c. The coarse sorts are grown as fodder for cows, 
sheep, oxen, and horses, and are considered profitable, as 
they frequently yield upwards of four hundred bushels to an 
acre. 

For the garden, the Early Horn being the earliest, should 
be cultivated for spring and summer use ; but the Long 
Orange and Altringham are more suitable for main crops, 
on account of their bright orange colour, as well as for their 
great size and length. They grow to great perfection in a 
rich loamy soil, and may be raised in drills drawn about one 
inch deep, and twelve inches asunder. A small bed may be 
planted the latter end of March for an early crop, and from 
that time to the end of May, for successive crops : but the 
principal crop should not be sown too soon, as the early 
plantings are apt to produce seed stalks, and consequently 
stringy and useless roots. 

The most suitable ground for the main crop of carrots,is that 
which has been well manured for previous crops, and requires 
no fresh manure. If the seed be sown early in June, and the 
plants thinned out to the distance of five or six inches from 
each other while young, and kept hoed, they would yield an 
abundance of fine roots for winter and spring use, by being 
taken up in the fall, and preserved either in sand in a cellar, 



CELERY. 43 

or graves covered up in the garden, as directed in the calen- 
dar for November. 

Although Carrot seed is naturally small and light, it sel- 
dom fails to vegetate in favourable seasons ; it therefore 
need not be sown too thick in ground not apt to produce 
weeds. If a root could be insured to grow unmolested in 
every instance where a seed may be deposited, one pound 
would be more than sufficient for an acre of land ; but gar- 
deners generally use four or five pounds to the acre, in 
order that the rows may be the more easily traced in the 
event of a luxuriant growth of weeds. To avoid risking an 
unequal crop in small gardens, half an ounce of seed should 
be allotted for every pole, perch, or rod, or twenty ounces 
for a rood of land. 



CELERY. 

Celeri. Apium graveolens. 

VARIETIES. 

White Solid. I New Silver Giant. 

Red Coloured Solid. North's Giant Red. 

Celeriac, or Turnip-rooted. 

This vegetable so much esteemed as a salad, is known 
in its wild state by the name of Smallage ; and is found in 
great abundance by the sides of ditches, and near the sea- 
coast of Britain. The effects of cultivation are here stri- 
kingly exhibited, in producing from a rank, coarse weed, the 
mild and sweet stalks of the Celery. This circumstance 
should stimulate the young gardener to aim at improvements 
in the cultivation of plants in general. 

It is customary with some gardeners to raise their early 
plants in hot-beds ; but as plants so raised are apt to pro- 
duce seed stalks, it is much safer to cultivate them in cold 
beds, prepared as directed for the raising of early Cabbage 
plants. The seed for a general crop may be sown the last 
week in March or early in April, in rich mellow ground, 
and in a situation where the plants could be protected from 
the parching heat of a summer sun (a border against a north 



44 CELERY. 

aspect is the most suitable.) Some sow the seed broadcast, 
but the plants will be much stouter if raised in drills. The 
drills may be half an inch deep, and six inches apart, so that 
a small hoe can be worked between the rows ; and if pro- 
perly attended to, every ounce of seed so sown, will produce 
ten thousand strong plants or more. 

The early sown plants should be pricked out into a nur- 
sery bed of rich earth, as soon as they are two or three inches 
long, there to remain about a month, after which they will 
be fit to transplant into the trenches. 

Choose for this purpose a piece of rich ground, in an open 
exposure, mark out the trenches by line, ten or twelve inches 
wide, and allow the space of three feet between them, which 
will be sufficient for the early plantations. Dig each trench 
a moderate spade deep, laying the dug out earth equally on 
each side, between the trenches ; lay three inches deep of 
very rotten dung in the bottom of each trench, then pare the 
sides and dig the dung and parings with an inch or two of 
the loose mould at the bottom, incorporating all well togev 
ther, and put in the plants. Previous to planting, trim the 
plants, by catting off the long straggling leaves, and also the 
ends of the roots. Let them be planted with a dibble, in 
single rows, along the middle of each trench, five or six 
inches between plant and plant ; as soon as they are planted, 
give them a plentiful watering, and let them be shaded until 
they strike root and begin to grow. 

The main crops may be planted in the same way, but in 
trenches four feet distant from each other, and an inch or 
two further from plant to plant ; or in beds made in the 
following manner, which for the ease of preserving the plants 
in winter, will be found extremely convenient, besides a 
greater quantity can be raised on a given piece of ground. 

Lay out the ground into beds of four feet wide, with alleys 
between, of three feet; dig the beds a spade deep, throwing 
the earth on the alleys : when done, lay four or five inches 
of good well-rotted dung all over the bottom of the beds, 
dig and incorporate it with the loose earth, and cover the 
whole with an inch or two of earth from the alleys ; plant 
four rows in each bed at equal distances, and from six to 



CELERY. 45 

eight inches apart in the rows ; aftea which, give them a 
plentiful watering, and shade them. 

The plants must be hoed occasionally, until grown of 
sufficient size for earthing, which is done with the assistance 
of boards, by laying them along the rows, to support the 
leaves while you are putting in the earth from the alleys, 
and removing them as you progress in the business. 

The earthing should never be done when the plants are 
wet, as this is apt to make the Celery rusty, but should be 
performed gradually in fine weather as the plants progress 
in growth, repeating the earthing every two weeks ; at which 
time care should be taken to gather up all the leaves neatly, 
and not to bury the hearts of the plants. When they are 
grown two feet high, and well blanched, they are fit for the 
table. As Celery will grow three or four feet high in one 
season, it will be necessary to delay the planting of that which 
is intended for winter use until the latter end of July, but 
the trenches should always be got ready soon enough to 
avoid a serious drought, which often delays the plantings 
till too late in the season. The blanching of Celery for 
winter use may be delayed until October. 

In raising Celery on a large scale, the trenches may be 
worked out with a plough, and finished with a spade or hoe. 
The ground may be also ploughed between each row of 
Celery previous to earthing it up ; this will save much 
labour. 

The Celeriac, or Turnip-rooted, may be planted either on 
level ground or in shallow drills ; the root of it swells like a 
Turnip, and may be preserved in sand through the winter. 
The French and Germans cut it in slices, and soak it a few 
hours in vinegar ; by such simple preparation, it becomes 
as mellow as a Pine Apple, and affords a delicious and very 
nourishing repast. 



46 CHERVIL, CHIVES, AND CORN SALAD. 

CHERVIL, OR CICELY THE SWEET. 

Cerfeuil. Scandix odorata cerefolium. 

Chervil is a small aromatic herb ; its leaves are used as 
salads, and for soup, &c. The seed may be sown early in 
the spring, in drills half an inch deep, and ten or twelve 
inches apart, and managed the same as Parsley. 



CHIVES, OR CIVES. 

Civette. Allium schccnoprasum. 

This is a small species of Onion, growing in large tufts; 
they are propagated by offsets from the roots, and may be 
planted either in the spring or fall, in rows ten or twelve 
inches apart, and the bulbs three or four inches apart in the 
rows ; they will soon take root, and increase very fast into 
large bunches of bulbs. They make handsome edgings to 
beds or borders. 



CORN SALAD, OR FETTICUS. 

Mache ou doucette. Valeriana locusta. 
Variety — Olitoria. 

This plant grows spontaneously in the cornfields of Eng- 
land, hence it is called Corn Salad, and from its being 
sufficiently hardy to stand the winter, it has acquired the 
appellation of Lamb's Lettuce, from its affording an early 
pasturage. It is cultivated as a salad for winter and early 
spring use. The seed may be sown in rich clean ground, the 
latter end of August or early in September. 

Some gardeners sow the seed in beds formed four or five 
feet wide, with paths between each bed, just sufficient to 
admit of room for hand-weeding ; but this will vegetate more 
freely if sown in drills half an inch deep, provided it be 
carefully covered. The drills may be about six inches apart, 



CRESS, AND WATER CRESS. 47 

just sufficient to admit a small hoe to work between the 
rows; as if the plants be not cleared of all weeds while 
young, they will be more plague than profit. Fetticus must 
be covered up with straw at the approach of severe weather, 
to preserve it in good condition for use in the early part of 
the ensuing spring. 

The seed of Fetticus is small and ljght, but it will admit 
of being sown thick, say at the rate of from four to six 
pounds to the acre of land. 



CRESS. 

Cresson. Lapidium sativum. 

VARIETIES. 

Curled, or Peppergrass. | Broad-leaved Garden. 

Cress is a small salad herb, and is very generally used with 
lettuce, with white mustard, or rape. It should be sown in 
little drills very thick, (as should the white mustard and rape) 
and cut before it comes into rough leaf. A small quantity 
in the salad season may be sown every week in rich ground 
free from weeds. 



WATER CRESS. 

Cresson de fontaine. Sisymbrium nasturtium. 

The Water Cress is a creeping amphibious perennial, and 
is grown very extensively for the London markets. Loudon 
says, in his Encyclopedia of Gardening, that " The most 
suitable description of water is a clear stream, not more 
than an inch and a half deep, running over sand or gravel ; 
the least favourable, deep still water, or a muddy bottom. It 
is highly advantageous to make the plantations in newly 
risen spring water, as the plants do not only thrive better in 
it, but in consequence of its being rarely frozen, they gene- 
rally continue in vegetation, and in a good state for gather- 
ing through the whole winter season. The plants are 



48 CUCUMBER. 

disposed in rows parallel with the course of the stream, 
about eighteen inches apart. When these plants begin to 
grow in water one inch and a half deep, they soon check the 
current so as to raise the water to the height of three inches 
above the plants, which is considered the most favourable 
circumstance in which they can be placed. It is absolutely 
necessary to have a constant current, as where there is any 
obstruction to the stream, the plants cease to thrive. After 
they have been cut about three times, they begin to stock, 
and then the oftener they are cut the better." 



CUCUMBER. 

Concombre. Cucumis sativus, etc. 



VARIETIES. 



Early Frame. 
Early Green Cluster. 
Early Green Table. 
Long Prickly. 
Short Prickly. 



Long Green Soutbgate. 
Long Green Turkey. 
Long White Turkey, 
White Spined. 
West India, or Gherkin. 



The Cucumis sativus, or common Cucumber, is a native 
of the East Indies, and of nearly as great antiquity as the 
vine. It was introduced into England in 1573, and is ex- 
tensively cultivated in forcing frames and in the open air. 
In March, they are sold in the London markets for a guinea 
a dozen ; and in August and September for one penny a 
dozen. As cucumbers are much used in New-York, it 
should be an object with gardeners to have them in the 
market early; directions for raising them out of the ordi- 
nary season, are therefore given in a future page, under the 
head forcing vegetables, to which the reader is referred. 
Cucumbers may be raised in the open ground by planting 
the seeds the first week in May, in hills four feet apart ; or 
if the ground be light, basins formed an inch below the level 
of the surface would be b e neficial.* Previous to planting, 



* The term hill is frequently made use of by gardeners and farmers, to 
designate a situation allotted for a given number of seeds, whereas, such 
seeds are more frequently deposited below the level of the surface than above 
it ; yet, as the plants progress in growth, hills are frequently formed around 
them, which makes the term applicable, or rather reconciles the apparent 
contradiction. 



EGG PLANT. 49 

the ground should be prepared by incorporating a shovelful 
of rotten dung with the earth in each hill, after which four 
or five seeds may be planted half an inch deep.* Cucum- 
bers are liable to be attacked by a yellow fly, which some- 
times devours young plants ; these and other insects may 
be killed by sowing tobacco dust, soot, powdered charcoal, 
and the like, round about the vines when they first come 
up. After this is done, the plants may be thinned to two 
or three in a hill, and the ground carefully hoed, drawing a 
little earth round them at the same time. Cucumber vines 
should be kept free from weeds, and if the weather proves 
dry, a gentle watering now and then, given in the evening, 
will be of considerable service. 

Picklers may be raised by planting the seeds at any time 
in July. When the vines begin to bear, they should be 
looked over, and the fruit gathered as fast it becomes fit, as 
the plant will cease to bear much, if the fruit be permitted 
to get yellow. 

EGG-PLANT. 

Melongene ou aubergine. Solatium melongena. 

VARIETIES. 

Purple, for cooking. White, for ornament. 

The seed of the Purple Egg-plant must be sown in a hot- 
bed about the first of March, and the sashes kept down 
close until the plants come up, after which a little air may 
be given in the heat of the day. f Towards the middle of 
May, if settled warm weather, the plants should be set out 
from twenty-four to thirty inches apart, in a rich warm 
piece of ground, and if kept clean, and a little earth be 
drawn up to their stems, when about a foot high, they will 
produce plenty of fruit. 



* One ounce of good Cucumber Seed is sufficient for two hundred hills 
and upwards. 

t Egg-plant Seed will not vegetate freely, unless a substantial heat be 
kept up in the hot-bed— but with proper management, upwards of four 
thousand plants may be raised from one ounce of seed. 

5 



50 ENDIVE, OR SUCCORY. 

The plants of the white kind may be raised in the same 
manner, and transplanted into pots in May ; or if some of 
the seed be sown in a warm situation the first week in May, 
these may come to perfection in the course of the summer. 
This variety, though generally cultivated for ornament, is 
good when cooked, 

As Egg Plants will not grow in tTie open ground until 
settled warm weather, and are often frozen from being 
transplanted too early, the gardener should be provided 
with small pots, in order that the plants may be transplanted 
therein early in May, and placed in a frame, there to remain 
until the first week in June, at which time if they are turned 
out and planted, with the balls of earth entire, they will 
soon take root and grow freely. 

Select the fruit when at maturity ; cut it into slices, and 
parboil it in a stewpan ; when softened, drain off the water ; 
it may then be fried in batter made with wheaten flour and 
an egg, or in fresh butter with bread grated fine, seasoned 
before it is put in the pan, with pepper, salt, thyme, and 
such other herbs as may best suit the palate. Some use 
Marjoram, Summer Savory, Parsley, Onion, Garlick, &c. 



ENDIVE, OR SUCCORY. 

Chicoree des jardins. Cickorium endiva, etc. 

VARIETIES. 

Green Curled. Golden Yellow. 

White Curled. Broad-leaved Batavian. 

The Cichorium endiva is a native of China and Japan, 
and is much used in salads and stews, and as a garnish for 
the table. 

The proper kind of seed for early sowing, is the Green 
Curled. A small quantity of this may be sown at different 
times in April and May, for those who would have it early.* 



* One ounce of good Endive seed will produce six thousand plants by 
careful cultivation. 



GARDEN BURNET. 51 

These crops will be very apt to run to seed ; for this reason, 
it will be best to delay the sowing of seed for general crops 
until June or July. If a small quantity of each kind of 
seed be sown two or three times in these months, they will 
produce a plentiful supply for use in the fall and early 
part of the winter. When the plants are three or four 
inches high, they should be transplanted into good ground, 
to the distance of a foot from each other, and immediately 
watered ; or if they are set out in cloudy or wet weather, it 
will save this trouble. The plants will require to be hoed 
and attended to in the same manner as Lettuce, until grown 
to a moderate size, when they must be blanched. Select 
the large and full-hearted plants, and with bass or other 
strings, tie them a little above the middle, not too tight, 
previously gathering up the leaves regularly in the hand. 
This must be done when the leaves are very dry, otherwise 
the plants would rot. 

The Cichorium intybus grows spontaneously in many 
parts of Europe and America. In France it is much culti- 
vated ; the tops of the plants are considered profitable for 
cattle, and the roots are taken up in the fall, and dried. 
The aromatic and volatile qualities of coffee are, by the 
combination of this root, rendered more mellow and full 
upon the palate, and its fragrance greatly increased, pro- 
ducing an agreeable tonic, and most exhilarating beverage. 

Sow the seeds in April in drills half an inch deep, and 
about eighteen inches apart ; thin out to six or eight inches 
in the row. The plant produces beautiful blue flowers, and 
is worthy of a place in the flower garden. The roots, when 
dried, roasted as coffee, and ground, may be mixed in the 
proportion of two ounces of the powder with a pound of 
coffee. 



GARDEN BURNET. 

Pimprenelle. Poturium sanguisorba. 

The common Garden Burnet is a native of England, and 
grows wild in dry calcareous soils. It has fibrous roots, 



52 HORSE RADISH. 

and retains its leaves throughout the year, but the stalks 
are annual. It has long been cultivated as a choice salad 
herb. The leaves being of a warm nature, are also used in 
cool tankards, and for imparting an agreeable flavour to 
wine and cider. The seed may be sown in drills about an 
inch deep, and twelve inches apart, in March or April ; at 
which time the roots of old plants may be parted off, and 
the slips planted out separately. 



HORSE-RADISH. 

Raifort. Cochlearia armor acia. 

This plant is propagated by cuttings from the root, either 
cut from the top an inch or two long, or by offsets that 
arise from the sides of the main root, retaining the crowns 
or top shoots in as many parts as possible. These should 
lie planted as early in the spring as practicable, in rows 
two feet apart, and six or eight inches from each other in 
the rows. The ground should be well manured, and dug 
two spades deep, and the cuttings may be sunk about ten 
inches with the crowns upright ; this being done, level the 
surface of the ground, and afterwards keep it free from 
weeds until the plants are full grown. With this manage- 
ment the roots will be long and straight, and the second 
year after the planting will be fit for use. Some take them 
up the first year, but then the roots are slender. If in taking 
up the roots some offsets be left in the ground, they will 
produce a successive supply for many years. Many mar- 
ket gardeners plant in fresh cultiv ated ground every year, 
and raise a row of Beets between each row of Horseradish, 
in which ease they plant cuttings, taken from the top, about 
two inches long, in the same manner as they plant Shallots. 



INDIAN CORN, ANO JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. 53 

INDIAN CORN. 



Mais. Zea mayz. 

VARIETIES. 



Early Golden Sioux. \ a 

Early Tuscarora. f g J 

Early Canadian. f f sf 

Svreet, or Sugar. ) ' £ 



Cobbett's Early Normandy. 
Southern JHorsetooth. 
Large Flour White. 
Mottled, and Curious Pearl. 



The different kinds of Early Corn intended for boiling 
when young, or others as curiosities, may be planted in the 
garden the last week in April, or early in May, in hills four 
feet apart, or in drills. If some of each be planted in sepa- 
rate beds at the same time, they will come in for the table 
one after the other in regular succession. After this, if any- 
particular kind be preferred, it may be planted at differ 
rent plantings in the months of May and June. If the 
ground be poor, mix a shovel full of old manure with the 
earth in each hill before the seeds are planted, and after the 
plants are up strong, scatter a tea-cup full of wood ashes 
around each hill. This, with attentive hoeing and hilling, 
will cause it to produce ears early. Deep digging between 
the hills is very beneficial when the corn is about eighteen 
inches high. 



JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. 

Pomme de terre. Helianthus tuberosum. 

This plant is a native of America. The tubers of the 
root, which are generally abundant, were, before potatoes 
became improved by cultivation, in great esteem, and are 
yet considered a fine flavoured and nutritious food when 
boiled and mashed with butter. They may be easily pro- 
pagated by cutting the roots into sets, with two eyes in 
each, and planting them in the same manner as pota- 
toes, in March and April, To have them in perfection, 
they should be hoed frequently, and the ground kept loose 
around them. In digging them for use, care should be 
taken to take them out clean, as the least particle being 
left will grow the year following, and encumber the ground, 
without producing a crop worth standing. 

5* 



54 



LEEK AND LETTUCE. 



LEEK. 

Poirreau. Allium porrum. 

VARIETIES. 

Scotch, or Flag | Large London. 

This is a wholesome and useful herb, and is so hardy as 
to endure the extremes of heat and cold without injury. 
The seed may be sown in March, or early in April, on a 
bed of rich earth, in drills about an inch deep, and of a 
sufficient distance apart to admit of a small hoe working 
between the rows, allowing one ounce of seed for every 
three thousand plants that may be required. If the ground 
be kept loose and clean around the plants, they will be fit 
to transplant in June, or early in July, and should be 
set out in good ground, in rows twelve inches asunder, and 
the plants five or six inches apart in the rows. They will 
grow well in a warm border, which at this season is useless 
for many kinds of vegetables. After the plants have taken 
root, they should be frequently hoed, and kept free from 
weeds. 

Those who wish to have leeks blanched, may plant them 
in trenches three or four inches deep, and as the plants pro- 
gress in growth, the earth should be drawn into the trenches. 



LETTUCE. 

Laitue. Lactuca sativa crispa. 



varieties. 



Large Green head. 
Dutch, or Cabbage. 
Tennis Ball, or Rose, 
Madeira, or Passion. 
Large Green Curled. 
Egyptian Green Coss. 



1:5 



Early Silesia. 
Imperial, or Sugar Loaf. 
Pale Green, or Butter. 
Grand Admiral. 
Large Summer Silesia. 
Brighton, or Loaf Coss. 



It would be easy to furnish a more extensive catalogue of 
Lettuce, as the varieties are numerous ; but as this is one of 
those kinds of vegetables that can only be raised in perfec- 
tion during mild and temperate weather, it is needless for the 



LETTUCE. 55 

gardener to plant any in the open ground, but such as have 
been tested, and found to stand a tolerable share of warm 
weather, which generally prevails in May and June, and 
consequently cuts short the Salad season. Those who have 
been accustomed to raise Head Lettuce in any quantity, 
know the trouble of preparing and planting the ground, and 
the loss thery would sustain, if several thousand of plants 
run up to seed just as they appeared to be perfecting for 
market. As this is often the case, even with the very best 
attention, I would caution gardeners to test such plants as 
they are not acquainted with, before they set out any quan- 
tity with a view to their heading. 

The six hardy kinds inserted in the first column of our 
catalogue, have been known to stand our winters, and may 
be sown from the first to the middle of September, in rich 
ground free from weeds ; they answer very well sown with 
Spinach, and should be covered over with straw at the 
approach of severe weather. These plants, if transplanted 
into warm borders, or in the open ground, as early in March 
as the weather permits, will produce fine heads early in 
May. 

The best of the tender kinds of Lettuce should be sown in 
moderate hot-beds early in March, which being transplanted 
into good ground by the middle of April, will produce their 
heads before the approach of warm weather. Such kinds as 
are known to produce heads in hot weather, and also such 
as may be required to cut as a small Salad while young, 
may be sown in warm borders in March and April, but 
those intended for heading should be transplanted as soon 
as they are an inch or two in height, and kept in a growing 
state by frequent hoeing, or they may run up to seed as the 
season advances. 

If it be an object with the gardener to have good strong 
Lettuce plants for transplanting, the seed should be sown 
very thin. One ounce of good seed is sufficient for a border 
of six feet in width by eighteen feet in length, and will 
produce from ten to twelve thousand plants. 

All kinds of Lettuce intended for heading, should be 
planted in good ground twelve inches distant from each 



56 MELON. 

other every way ; the plants should he carefully hoed every 
other week, during their growth ; the first hoeing should be 
done in about two weeks after they are transplanted. 

The Coss Lettuce requires to be blanched ; this is done by 
gathering up the leaves of the plants, and tying bass round 
them when grown to perfection. 

If Head Lettuce be required at other seasons than the 
spring, it may be obtained in the fall by sowing the seed in 
August, or in the winter, by means of garden frames and 
glazed sashes. See article on forcing vegetables. 



MELON. 

Melon. Cucumis melo. 



varieties. 



Green Citron. "j c 

Murray's Pine Apple | i 

Persian. y 1 

Nutmeg. , % 

Star, Fine Late J ?• 



Large Yellow Canteleupe. 
Minorca, or Netted do. 
Pomegranate, or Musk Scented. 
Skillrnan's, or Netted Romane. 
Snake, (curious.) 



The Melon is an exotic plant, growing wild in Asia. It 
is cultivated in all the warm countries of Europe, and also in 
Africa and America, where its salubrious and cooling fruit is 
reatly esteemed. 
For the varieties of the Musk or Canteleupe Melons, 
prepare a piece of rich ground the first week in May ; ma- 
nure it and give it a good digging ; then mark it out into 
squares of six feet every way ; at the angle of every square, 
dig a hole twelve inches deep and eighteen over, into which 
put seven or eight inches deep of old rotten dung ; throw 
thereon about four inches of earth, and mix the dung and 
earth well with the spade ; after which draw the remainder of 
the earth over the mixture, so as to form a circular hill 
about a foot broad at top. When your hills are all prepa- 
red as above, plant in each towards the centre, eight or nine 
grains of good melon seed, distant two inches from one 
another, and cover them about half an inch deep.* When 

• One ounce of good Melon seed will plant from one hundred and 
twenty to one hundred and fifty hills. 



WATER MELON. 57 

the plants are up and in a state of forwardness, producing 
their rough leaves, they must be thinned to two or three in 
each hill ; draw earth from time to time round the hills, and 
as high about the roots of the plants as the seed leaves. 
As soon as the plants spread into branches they should be 
stopped, by pinching off the top of the first runner bud ; this 
will strengthen the plants and promote their perfecting the 
fruit early ; after which keep the ground perfectly free from 
weeds, byf requent hoeings. 

There are many varieties of the Melon, highly estimated 
in Europe, which do not succeed in this country ; the gar- 
dener should, therefore, plant only such as have been tested 
and found to produce good fruit here, or our superior old 
sorts may become degenerate. After a judicious selection is 
made, if caution be not used to plant the different sorts 
remote from each other, also from cucumbers, squashes, and 
gourds, degeneracy will infallibly be the consequence. To 
prevent the ravages of flies, &c. see Cucumber. 



WATER MELON. 

Melon d'eau. Cucurbita citrullus. 

VARIETIES. 

Long Island. Apple seeded . 

Carolina. Citron, for preserves. 

The Water Melon, though by some considered a species 
of the former, is a distinct genus of exotic plants. They 
afford a very refreshing article of luxury in our warm sum- 
mers. Dr. Pallas, in the account of his journey to the south- 
ern provinces in Russia, in 1793 and 94, speaking of a 
colony of Moravians at Sarepta, or Sapa, on the river 
Volga, says, "The ingenious inhabitants of this town brew 
a kind of beer from their very abundant and cheap Water 
Melons, with the addition of Hops ; they also prepare a 
conserve or marmalade from this fruit, which is a good 
substitute for syrup or treacle." 

In order to have Water Melons in good perfection, you 
must fix upon a piece of very rich light soil ; prepare, sow 



58 MUSTARD AMD NASTURTIUM 

and manage it in every respect as is directed for the others, 
only let the hills be seven or eight feet distant every way. 
One ounce of seed will plant from forty to fifty hills. 



MUSTARD. 

Moutarde. Sinapis. 

VARIETIES. 

White. | Black. 

The Alba, or White Mustard, grows spontaneously in the 
fields of England ; it is also cultivated as a small Salad, as 
well as for seed. The seed yields from every hundred 
pounds, from thirty-three to thirty-six pounds of sweet mild 
oil. 

The Nigra, or Common Mustard, is also a native of 
England. The condiment, called Mustard, and in daily 
use at our table, is prepared from the seeds of this species. 

The seeds of each variety may be sown in clean rich 
ground in April and May ; and for a fall Salad in Septem- 
ber, in shallow drills. 



NASTURTIUM. 

Capucine. Tropaolum. 

This is an annual plant, a native of Peru, and is highly 
deserving of cultivation for the sake of its brilliant orange- 
coloured flowers, as well as for the berries, which, if ga- 
thered while green and pickled in vinegar, make a good 
substitute for capers, and are used, in melted butter, with 
boiled mutton, &c. 

The seeds should be sown in April, or early in May, in 
drills about an inch deep, near fences or pales ; or trellises 
should be fixed on which they can climb and have support, 
for they will always be more productive in this way than 
when suffered to trail on the ground. 



OKRA AND ONION. 59 

OKRA. 

Gombo. Hibiscus esculentus. 

The green capsules of this plant are used in soups, and 
its ripe seeds, if burnt and ground like coffee, can scarcely 
bp distinguished therefrom. 

The seed should be planted in good rich ground, the first 
or second week in May, if settled warm weather. Draw 
drills about an inch deep, and four feet asunder, into which 
drop the seeds at the distance of six or eight inches from 
one another, or rather drop two or three in each place, lest 
the one should not grow, and cover them near an inch in 
depth; as they advance in growth thin them out, earth 
them up two or three times, and they will produce abun- 
dantly. 



ONION. 

Oignon. Allium cepa, etc. etc. 

VARIETIES. 

While Portugal. 1 Yellow Dutch. 

Silver Skinned. Strasburgh, or Flanders. 

Madeira. | Deptford Red . 

Op the several varieties of Onions, the Yellow Dutch, 
Strasburg, or large Deptford Red, are the best for a ge- 
neral crop. The bulbs are handsome, of firm growth, and 
keep well through the winter. The white kinds are hand- 
some for the table, and very suitable for pickling ; also to 
pull while young : they generally turn out a very pofitable 
crop. 

Previous to sowing Onion seed for a general crop, the 
ground should be well prepared by digging in some of the 
oldest and strongest manure that can be got. The earlier 
this be done in the spring, the better ; and the planting 
should not be delayed longer than the middle of April. 
The seed may be sown in drills one inch deep, and twelve 
inches apart. 



60 ONION. 

Those who cultivate Onions for the sake of their bulbs, 
may use at the rate of from four to five pounds of seed 
per acre. As market gardeners, in the vicinity of large cities, 
find it most profitable to pull a great proportion of their 
Onions while young, they generally require at the rate of 
from eight to ten pounds to an acre of land. 

When the plants are up strong, they should be hoeo*. 
Those beds that are to stand for ripening, should be thinned 
out while young, to the distance of two or three inches 
from each other ; if a few should be required for use after 
this, those can be taken which incline more to tops than 
roots, and if the beds be frequently looked over, and the 
small and stalky plants taken away where they stand thick- 
est, the remaining bulbs will grow to a larger size. The 
plants should be hoed at least three times in the early part 
of their growth ; but if the season prove damp, and weeds 
vegetate luxuriantly, they must be removed by the hand, 
because, after the Onions have begun to bulb, it would be 
improper to stir them with a hoe. 

When the greenness is gone out of the tops of Onions, it 
is time to take them up, for from this time the fibrous roots 
decay. After they are pulled, they should be laid out to dry, 
and when dry, removed to a place of shelter. 

The small Onions may be planted in the spring following: 
even an Onion which is partly rotten will produce good 
bulbs, if the seed stems be taken off as soon as they appear. 

The Allium fisiulo sum, or Welsh Onions, are cultivated 
for spring salad ; they form no bulbs, but are very hardy. If 
the seed be sown early in September in rich ground, 
although the crops may die down in the winter, yet the roots 
will continue sound, and put up new leaves early in the 
spring. 

The Allium cepa, or common White and Red Onions, 
are most generally cultivated by market gardeners as a sub- 
stitute for the Allium fistulosum ; they sow the seed in the 
spring and autumn months, the product of which is pulled 
and sent' to market while young, and generally meet a 
ready sale. 

The Allium proliferum, or Tree Onion, is propagated by 



PARSLEY. 61 

planting the bulbs in spring or autumn, either the root bulbs, 
or those produced on the top of the stalks ; the latter if 
planted in the spring, will produce fine Onions. These 
may be planted in rows with a dibble, the same as Shallots. 

The Potatoe Onion is of late introduction into this coun- 
try. It does not produce seed as other Onions, but it in- 
creases by the root. One single Onion, slightly covered, will 
produce six or seven in a clump, partly under ground. 

The bulbs are generally planted in the spring, from 
twelve to eighteen inches apart, but they will survive the 
winter, if planted in the fall, by being slightly covered wit!) 
dung, litter, or leaves of trees. 



PARSLEY. 

Persil. Apium petroselinum. 

VARIETIES. 



Dwarf Curled. 
Extra Curled. 
Single, or Common. 



Uardy Siberian. 

.Large Rooted Hamburg. 

Large Rooted Naples. 



Parsley is a hardy biennial plant, and grows wild in 
moist climates, but has been greatly improved by cultiva- 
tion. The leaves of Common Parsley are used as a pot 
herb, and those of the Extra Curled kinds make a fine 
garnish. The Large Rooted are generally cooked for the 
table in autumn and winter, like Parsnips. 

As Parsley seed, sown late in the season, is apt to lay in 
the ground some time before it vegetates, the general crop 
should be sown by the early part of April, in drills an inch 
deep, and one foot asunder, allowing at the rate of about 
six or seven pounds of seed to the acre, or two ounces for 
every three perches of land. After the plants are up, let 
them be kept clean by frequent hoeings. The Large Rooted 
Parsley should be thinned out while young, and managed 
the same as Carrots and Parsnips. 

In order to have Parsley green through the winter, the 
old leaves should be picked off in September. If some of 

6 



62 PARSNIP. 

the roots be taken up early in November, and laid in a 
frame, or light cellar, the leaves will keep green a long 
time ; the remainder may be covered up with straw in the 
place where it grows. 

If some Parsley seed be sown in frames in the summer, 
and shaded, it may be kept for winter use without the 
trouble of removing it. 



PARSNIP. 
Panais. Pastinaca sativa. 

VARIETIES. 

Long Guernsey Cup. | Large Dutch,or Comm oa. 

This is a hardy biennial plant, common in calcareous 
soils ; it has long been an inmate of the garden, and forms 
a vegetable dish in the winter, with salt meat, salted.fish, &c. 

Parsnip seed may be planted from the middle of March 
to the last week in April, in drills one inch deep and four- 
teen inches apart ; and as this vegetable requires the whole 
season to grow in, the sooner the seed is planted the better. 
Parsnips grow best in a deep soil, manured well the pre- 
ceding fall. Sow the seeds thick along the drills, at the rate 
of five or six pounds per acre, and rake them in evenly. 

When the plants are two or three inches high, thin them 
to the distance of six or eight inches in the rows. They 
should be kept free from weeds, by regular hoeings through 
the summer ; and in the fall they will be fit for use ; but 
they improve in flavour after having been frozen, and will 
endure the severity of a hard winter. See calendar for 
November. 

Parsnips require from thirty to forty minutes boiling, 
according to their size and age. Some boil them in water, 
seasoned with salt, until tender; but they are better when 
boiled with salt pork, and afterwards mashed and fried in 
butter. 



PEPPER. 03 

PEPPER. 

Poivre ou piment. Capsicum. 

* 
VARIETIES. 

GroMum, or Bell Pepper. Long Red, or Bird's Bill. 

Tomato Shaped, or Squash. Cherry, or West Indian. 

Sweet Spanish ; used as a Salad, has a very delicate taste. 

This family of plants are natives of the East and West 
Indies ; some of their capsules, or pods, are yellow^ and 
others red, when at maturity ; they are much used for 
pickling, and should be gathered for that purpose before 
they are fully ripe. 

The seeds of the different kinds of Capsicums may be 
sown in a hot- bed in March, or on a warm border, early in 
May.* The plants may be afterwards transplanted into 
good rich ground, from eighteen inches to two feet distant 
from each other. 

Those who do not want Peppers early in the season, 
may sow the seeds in the open ground in May, in drills two 
feet asunder, and half an inch deep. When the plants are 
grown an inch or two high, thin them to the distance of 
fifteen or eighteen inches in the rows. The ground should 
be afterwards hoed deep round the plants,^ and kept free 
from weeds by repeated hoeing§. 

The Capsicum Grossum, or Bell Pepper, is perennial, 
and will keep in perpetual bearing in warm climates. In 
England this species is considered superior to all others, on 
account of its skin being thick, and also pulpy and tender ; 
the plants are therefore frequently preserved in hot-houses 
during the winter and spring, and kept in the open air 
in settled warm weather. 



• One ounce of seed will produce three thousand plants and upwards. 



Hi 



PEA8. 

PEAS. 

Pois. Pisum sativum. 



• VARIETIES. 



Bishop's Early Dwarf, 1 foot. 
Early Washington, 2| feet. 
Early Frame, 2\ 
Marly Charlton, 3 feet. 
Double Blossom Frame. 3 feet. 
Dwarf Prolific, or Strawberry, 
Dwarf Spanish, or Fun, 1 foot 
Early Nimble Dick, 3| feet. 
Early Petersburgh, 2£ feet. 
Dwarf Blue, Imperial, 2 feet. 
Waterloo Blue, 4 feet. 
Dutch Gray, 2h feet. 



u 



Dwarf Blue, Prussian, 2J feet- 
Dwarf Marrowfat, 3£ feet. 
Ladies' Finger Marrows, 4 feet. 
Matchless Marrowfat, 6 feet. 
Knight's Tali Marrow, 6 feet. 
Knight's Dwarf Marrow, 3 feet. 
Woodford's Tall Prolific, 6 feet. 
Large Grey Pcouncival, 4 feet. 
Dwarf Sugar (eatable pods) 3 feet. 
Tall Crooked Pod Sugar, 6 feet. 
French Bouquet, or Sugar new, 3£ ft 
Albany Field, in varieties. 



' The above list and description of the most esteemed kinds 
of Peas, are taken from the catalogue of Mr. G. C. Thor- 
hurn, of New York. If they are rightly described, they will 
"row to different heights, according to soil and season. 
This description, however, may serve as a guide for the 
gardener in planting. The Dwarf Peas require less dis- 
tance between row and row, and shorter sticks than the tall 
kinds. 

Planting the early kinds of Peas should commence as 
soon in the spring as the ground can be brought into good 
condition ; all the other sorts, as well as the early, will 
answer for successive crops; to obtain which, a few of the 
most esteemed kinds should be planted at the same time 
every two weeks, from March until the end of May. Per- 
sons desirous of having Peas throughout the summer and 
Jail, may plant a few in June, July and August. The 
Peas should be then soaked in soft water, five or six hours 
before planting, and if the ground be dry, it should be 
watered in the drills. 

Gardeners practice different modes of planting Peas, 
some plant them in ridges, others in drills, some in single 
rows, others in double, some use sticks for the dwarf kinds, 
and others not ; those who study neatness should have them 
all rodded, though the most dwarfish may do without. 

All the different sorts of Peas may be planted in double 
or single rows, from four to six feet apart, according to the 



peas. 65 

different heights they may be expected to grow. If two 
drills be made three inches deep, and six or eight inches 
apart, and the seed dropped along each drill moderately, 
thick, they will yield better than single rows, and will save 
sticks. When the plants are two or three inches high, let 
them be hoed, drawing at the same time a little earth up to 
their stems ; when they get to double that height, let them 
be hoed again, at the same time place a row of sticks in the 
middle of your double rows, and a few shorter and smaller 
ones on the outside of each row, to assist the Peas in climb- 
ing to their main support. You must be governed as to 
the length of your sticks by the description of your Peas. 
There is a great advantage in having sticks of a suitable 
height to the various kinds of Peas ; the sticks should not 
only be sufficiently tall, but also branchy, that the plants 
may readily take hold ; and they should be perpared fan 
fashion, so that the side branches may extend only along 
the rows. As the plants progress in growth, let them be 
repeatedly hoed and earthed up ; this will promote a plen- 
tiful bearing. 

One quart of Peas will plant from one hundred and fifty 
to two hundred feet of row, allowing the largest kinds to 
average one inch apart, and the smallest, two peas to the 
inch. 

To have green peas in perfection, they should be gathered 
while young, and cooked immediately after they are shelled, 
or they will soon lose their colour and sweetness. Let the 
water be seasoned with salt, and boiled ; then put in the Peas 
with a small bunch of Spear Mint, and ease the cover so as 
to let off the steam ; they require about fifteen minutes boil- 
ing, or five minutes more or less, according to the age and 
care bestowed.— Taste and try in time, so as to have them 
done to a nicety. 

The Sugar Peas have no inner tough film, or skin, to the 
pods, like the common sorts ; they should therefore be boiled 
without shelling, and served up the same as Kidney Beans. 



A* 



66 POTATOES. 

POTATOES. 

Pomme de tekre. Solarium tuberosum. 

The Potatoe is known to be a native of the Southern parts 
of America, but has been greatly improved by cultivation. 

The varieties being very numerous, it is unnecessary for 
me to point out any particular kinds ; some of the earliest 
should, however, be planted first in the spring, to produce 
young Potatoes in due season, but they are not so suitable 
for a full crop as the late varieties. 

Potatoes being of such extensive utility, various expedients 
have been contrived with a veiw to find out the best method 
«>f preparing the seed. In many parts of England, (where 
Potatoes equal to any in the world are raised,)' the farmers 
never plant them whole ; they take the Potatoes as they come 
to hand, and in cutting them take care to have two good eyes 
in each' set ; the small Potatoes are deprived of the sprout or 
nose end, as it is generally considered that a redundancy of 
eyea exhausts the set, and produces weak plants, which are 
not calculated to yield a full crop. I have frequently known 
from five to six hundred bushels raised from an acre with 
small Potatoes alone cut in this way. Some prefer planting 
the sets immediately after they are cut ; the better way is to 
get them cut a week before the time of planting, and to lay 
them out on a barn, or garret floor, to dry. 

It will require from twelve to sixteen bushels of Potatoes 
to plant an acre of ground, according to the size and nature 
of the seed roots, the manner of preparing, and mode of 
planting the same. 

Potatoes may be planted from the first week in April until 
July, either in hills or drills ; the best way for a garden is to 
plant them in drills four or five inches deep, and about thirty 
inches asunder ; the sets may be dropped six or eight inches 
apart, and if a smalUjuantity of combmaker's horn shavings, 
or sea weed, be used as a manure for the early kinds, it will 
expedite their growth ; the ground should be hoed as soon 
as the plants come up, and as they progress in growth, it 
will be proper to mduld or earth them up twice. 



POTATOE SWEET, AND PUMPKIN. 

POTATOE, SWEET. 

POMME DE TERRE DOUCE. Convolvulus hatdtOS. 

Sweet Potatoes are grown in great perfection in the 
Southern States, and may be raised in the vicinity of New- 
York, by means of a hot-bed, in which they should be 
planted whole, early in April, three or four inches deep, and 
about the same distance apart. In about a month they will 
throw up sprouts. . When these are three inches above 
ground, part them oif from the Potatoe, which, if suffered to 
remain, will produce more sprouts for a successive planting ; 
transplant them into rich light soil, in rows four feet apart, 
and plants about a foot apart, in the rows, or in hills four 
feet apart. Keep clear of weeds, until the vines begin to 
cover the ground, after which they will grow freely. In 
sandy ground, it is well to put a shovelful of rotten manure 
to each plant. 

A moderate hot-bed, five feet square, put down early in 
the month of April, with half a peck of good sound Sweet 
Potatoes placed therein, will produce a succession of sprouts 
in May and June, which if planted and managed as directed, 
will yield about fifteen bushels of good roots. 




PUMPKIN, 

Citrouille ou Potiron. Cucurbit a pep o> 



Large Cheese. 

White Bell. 

Finest Fellow Family. 



VARIETIES. 



Connecticut Field. 

Large or Mammoth. 

Seven Years, or Long-keeping. 



This plant is highly deserving cultivation, particularly in 
new settlements ; the large sorts are profitable for cattle, as 
some of the mammoth tribe have been known to weigh 
upwards of two hundred pounds each ; the other kinds are 
also very productive, and may be raised on any waste land, 
provided it will admit of digging small spots, of a foot or 
two dimensions, every ten or twelve feet, for the hills, and 
that the residue of the ground be unencumbered for the 
plants to run on. They are generally raised on cultivated 
farms, between hills of Indian Com, and may be planted in 
the garden or open field, in May or Jnne, in hills eight or 



08 PATIENCE DOCK, AND RADISH. 

ten feet apart, with three or four seeds in each hill* They 
are not so tenacious of a particular soil as either Melons or 
Cucumbers, but, in other respects, are cultivated in the 
same manner, only that in raising them on a large scale, 
the ground may be prepared with a plough, and also after- 
wards, as the weeds advance, the plough and harrow may 
be used between the plants until they begin to run, which 
will save much labour. 

The finest quality Pumpkins are known to make good 
pies, and may also, after being boiled, be worked up with 
wheaten flour into bread, for which purpose they are fully 
equal to Indian meal. The knowledge of this fact may 
prove advantageous to farmers living at a distance from 
cities, as they may find a market for their grain or meal 
easier than for their Pumpkins. 



PATIENCE DOCK. 

Rhubarbs des moines. Rumex patientia. 

The Rumex patientia is perennial ; the leaves are large, 
long, and succulent, and are by some very much esteemed. 
The plant may be propagated by offsets from the root taken 
oft" in the spring, or late autumn months, and planted in 
rows eighteen inches asunder, and eight inches from one 
another in the rows. If the seed be sown in October or 
November, it will rise freely in the spring, or it may be 
planted in March or April, in drills one inch and a half 
deep, and eighteen inches apart, and afterwards thinned to 
the proper distance. 



RADISH. 

Radis ou rave. Raphanus sativus. 



Early Frame, 
Early Scarlet Short Top. 
Long Salmon. 
Scarlet Turnip. 
White Turnip Rooted. 



varieties. 



Long White'Naples. 
Purple Turnip. 
Yellow Turnip. 
White Spanish. 
Black Spanish. 



The different varieties of Radishes are extensively culti- 



* One quart of Field Pumpkin Seed will plant from five to six hundred 
hilli. An ounce of the finer kinds will plant from fifty to eighty hills. 



RADISH. 6Q 

rated near large cities, chiefly for the roots, which are 
considered a luxury after a hard winter, and prove accept- 
able as the warm weather approaches, provided they can be 
obtained in perfection. The plant is also cultivated for the 
sake of the seed leaves, which are used as a small Salad ; 
and even the seed pods, if pickled while young and green, 
are by some considered a good substitute for Capers. 

Those who may be desirous of having good Radishes 
early in the spring, should have a warm border prepared in 
the very best manner, so as to be ready to sow sow some of 
the Short Top Scarlet by the middle of March. If the 
ground should not be in good condition to receive the seed 
at this time, let it be delayed a few days, and by the first of 
April, take care to have another bed prepared in the open 
ground, by digging in some good strong manure. The 
seed may be sown broadcast, and raked in evenly. If you 
wish to have Radishes in regular succession, sow seeds of 
the most esteemed kinds every two weeks, until the middle 
of May : if any be sown after this, it should be the sorts 
described in the second column of our catalogue. These 
will endure the heat better than the others, and may be sown 
in drills, in small quantities, throughout the summer, until 
the latter end of August, when all the kinds may be sown in 
regular succession until the first of October. Market gar- 
deners may prepare the ground with a plough, and cover 
such seeds as may be sown broadcast with a harrow. 

The early kinds of Radish seed may be sown at the rate 
of from twelve to fourteen pounds to the acre, broadcast; 
and about half the quantity may be sufficient, in drills drawn 
a foot apart. Of the large late kinds, five pounds to the 
acre will be enough, if sown regularly in drills as directed. 

It may be necessary here to remind the gardener of the 
necessity of sowing tobacco dust, soot, or ashes, &c. over 
his seed beds, in hot dry weather, or he will find it difficult 
to raise Radishes. — See article Turnip, also page 10 of the 
General Remarks. 



70 ROCAMBOLE, AND RHUBARB. 

ROCAMBOLE. 

Ail d'espagne. Allium scorodoprasum. 

This and the Allium sativum, or common Garlic, is 
raised in some gardens. Many people consider the Rocam- 
bole to be of a milder and better flavour, but the bulbs are 
not so large as those of the Garlic. 

This is a very hardy plant, and will grow in almost every 
soil or situation. It is propagated either by the roots or 
seeds ; the former ought to be separated and planted at the 
same time, and in the same manner as Shallots. 

If raised from seeds, they may be sown in drills, either 
shortly after the seeds are ripe, or in the succeeding spring ; 
they require only to be kept clear of weeds, and in th© 
following autumn may be taken up, the bulbs parted, and 
planted as before. 



RHUBARB. 

Rhubarbe. Rheum. 

Rhubarb is a genus of exotic plants, comprising seven 
species, of which the following are the principal: — 

1. Rhaponticum, or Common Rhubarb, a native of Thrace 
and Syria, which has long been cultivated in British gardens 
for the footstalks of the leaves, which are frequently used in 
pies and tarts. 

2. The Rheum undulatum is also cultivated for the same 
use. 

3. The Palmatum, or true Officinale Rhubarb, is a native 
of China and the East Indies, whence its culture has been 
introduced into Europe ; it produces a thick fleshy root, 
externally yellowish brown, but internally of a bright yellow 
colour, streaked with red veins. It grows to great perfec- 
tion in Scotland, as far north as Perthshire, (lat. 56,) also 
in England, Turkey, and various other parts of Europe. 
When the importance of this root as a medicine is con- 
sidered, it is a matter of astonishment that it has not been 
more generally introduced into the United States. 



RHUBARB. 71 

The several kinds of Rhubarb may be propagated by 
offsets taken from the roots early in the spring, or from seed 
sown late in the fall, or in March and the early part of 
April. The indispensable points to the production of good 
roots of the Palmatum, are depth and richness of soil, 
which should be well pulverized before the plants are set 
out. Prepare beds of fine mould eighteen inches deep ; in 
these put in the plants from the seed bed, ten or twelve 
inches apart ; this must be done when they have attained 
the height of four or five inches, and have thrown out as 
many leaves. 

The first season is the most critical, and much care is 
necessary. If the weather be hot, the nursery must be 
shaded, and at all events continually watered ; for water, 
though hurtful to old plants, is now of the first consequence. 
Wet weather is the most proper time to plant in. The beds 
must be kept free from weeds during the summer, and on 
the approach of severe weather, covered up with light litter. 
The early part of the spring this must be taken off, and in 
the beginning of April the plants must be transplanted into 
ground dug and prepared as directed for Asparagus. Those 
who cultivate the Palmatum for the sake of the roots, should 
dig the ground two or three spades deep, and place the 
plants three feet apart every way. As to the other kinds, it 
is not so particular, so as the plants have room to grow. In 
the early part of November, the leaves being then decayed, 
the beds should be covered with dry litter ; before this is 
done, a little earth should be drawn round the crowns of the 
plants. If there be any danger of water lodging, make 
trenches to carry it off. In the month of March, the beds 
should be stripped of their covering, and the ground well 
hoed and cleared of weeds. 

The roots of Palmatum must not be taken up, until six or 
seven years old. The stalks of the other kinds may be cut 
every spring, as soon as the leaves are expanded. 

If Rhubarb stalks be required for use early in the spring, 
they may be obtained by placing flour barrels or deep tube 
over some of the plants, and covering them up with fresh 



72 «ALsirr. 

stable dung, or by any of the methods pointed out in the 
article under the head of Forcing Vegetables. 

The stalks of this plant are used for pies and tarts. After 
being stripped of the skin, or outer covering, and divested of 
its small fibres, or stringiness, which it is liable to> in an 
advanced stage of growth, it should be cut transversely into 
very small pieces, and then parboiled with sugar, and such 
fpices as may best suit the palate. It will keep this way 
the same as other preserves, and may be used not only in 
pies and tarts, but it makes excellent pudding, by flattening 
a suety crust with a rolling pin, then spreading on the fruit, 
rolling it up in an oval shape, and boiling it in a cloth. The 
fruit this way will retain its virtues, and the pudding may 
be served up hot, in slices of from half an inch to an inch 
thick, and spreading butter and sugar between the layers. 
Some boil the stalks to a juice, which being strained 
through a colander will keep for years, if well spiced and 
seasoned with sugar. 

In England, large drying houses have been erected, for the 
purpose of curing the roots of the Palmatum ; but this business 
may be done in this country as it is done in China : by the 
heat of the sun. After the roots have been well washed and 
the small fibres. cut off, they are then cut transversely into 
pieces of about two inches thick, and dried on boards, 
turning them several times a day, in order to prevent the 
escape of the yellow juice, on which its medicinal qualities 
depend. In four or five days, they may be strung upon 
strings, and suspended in a shady, but airy and dry situa- 
tion, and in two months afterwards they will be fit for the 
market. 



SALSIFY. 

Salsifis ou Cercifis. Tragopogon porrifolium. 

This plant grows spontaneously in the open fields of 
England, and is by some highly valued for its white eatable 
root, and for the young shoots rising in the spring from 
plants a year old ; these when gathered while green and 



SCORZONERA. 73 

tender, are good to boil and eat in the manner of Asparagus. 
Some have carried their fondness for this plant so far, as to 
call it Vegetable Oyster. It requires the same kind of soil 
and management as Carrots and Parsnips. The seeds may 
be sown the latter end of March, or early in April, an inch 
deep, in drills twelve inches apart. When the plants are 
two or three inches high, they should be thinned to the 
distance of six inches from each other, and afterwards hoed. 
The ground should be kept clean and loose round the 
plants, by repeated hoeings ; and in the autumn they will 
be fit for use. The roots may be taken up late in the fall, 
and secured in moist sand from the air ; or be suffered to 
remain out, and dug up when wanted. 

As the seeds of Salsify do not all ripen equally alike, they 
should be sown moderately thick. To insure a regular crop, 
five or six pounds should be allowed for an acre of ground, 
or two ounces for every three perches. 

The mode of cooking recommended by an American 
author is, " to cut the roots transversely into thin pieces ; 
boil them in water, or milk and water ; when boiled soft, 
mash them and thicken the whole with flour to some degree 
of stiffness; then fry them in the fat of salt pork, or butter; 
they are a luxury." In England the tops are considered 
excellent food when boiled tender, and served up with 
poached eggs and melted butter. They are by some 
considered salutary for persons inclined to consumption. 
Those afflicted with any symptoms indicating an approach to 
such a state of health, cannot harm themselves by eating the 
tops, when they are to be got, which is in the month of 
April, and if the roots are eaten when attainable, they may, 
perhaps, answer a still better purpose, and even the liquor 
in which they are boiled may possess some of the most 
valuable properties of the plant. 



SCORZONERA. 

Scorsonere. Scorzonera Hispanica. 

This plant has long been raised in British gardens, for 

7 



74 SEA-KALE. 

culinary purposes, and especially as an ingredient in soups, 
on account of its palatable and nourishing roots. Some boil 
and eat them like carrots, &c. ; in which case they should be 
deprived of their rind, and immersed in cold water for half 
an hour, or they will be bitter. They are raised precisely 
in the same manner as Salsify. If the seed be sown in 
April, in a good deep soil, the roots will attain perfection in 
autumn, and continue good all the winter. They last from 
three to four years, according to the quality of the earth and 
care bestowed on them ; but it is better to raise a few from 
seed every year. 



SEA-KALE. 

Chou marin. Crambe maritima. 

This plant is found on the sea-shore, in the southern parts 
of England, where it grows spontaneously. As soon as it 
appears above ground, the inhabitants remove the pebbles or 
sand, with which it is usually covered, to the depth of several 
inches, and cut oft* the young and tender leaves and stalks, 
as yet unexpanded and in a blanched state, close to the 
crown of the root ; it is then in its greatest perfection. 
When the leaves are full grown, they become hard and 
bitter, and the plant is not eatable. 

It is cultivated in private gardens, and for sale in various 
parts of England. Cultivators have differed widely res- 
pecting the mode of treating this plant ; many conceiving 
that stones, gravel and sea sand, are essential to its growth, 
have gone to the expense of providing them ; but it has 
been discovered that it will grow much more luxuriantly in 
a rich sandy loam, where the roots can penetrate to a great 
depth. 

The seeds of Sea-Kale may be sown in October, or as 
early in the spring as the ground can be brought into good 
condition, in drills an inch and a half deep, and fourteen or 
sixteen inches asunder ; the plants should be afterwards 
thinned out to the distance of six or eight inches from each 



SEA-KALE. 



75 



other in the rows, and kept clear of weeds by frequent hoeings 
through the summer. When the plants are a year old, every 
third row may be taken up, and also every other plant in 
each row, leaving them fourteen or sixteen inches apart ; 
these may be transplanted into good ground prepared as 
directed for Asparagus. Plant two rows in each bed, about 
eighteen inches apart ; the best way is to make two drills 
three inches deep, and with a dibble set in the plants fifteen 
or sixteen inches from each other; when these drills are filled, 
the crowns of the plants will be covered nearly two inches, 
but they will soon push through the earth. The plants left 
in the seed bed may form a permanent bed, which should be 
forked or dug between the rows ; pevious to this being done, 
lay on an inch or two of good rotten manure, and incorporate 
k with the earth around the plants. 

Some make new plantations with pieces o"f old roots, whieh 
should be cut up in lengths of about two inches, and planted 
in March or April, three or four inches deep, at the distance 
before directed for the plants. 

At the approach of winter, the leaves will die away, and 
disappear. The beds should be then thickly covered with 
dung, leaves, or sea weed ; this will not only protect the 
plants from frost, but will cause them to shoot up early in 
the spring. As soon as the frost is out of the ground, this 
may be taken off, or if well rotted, it may be mixed up with 
the earth ; the crowns of the plants should then be eovered 
to the depth of ten or twelve inches for blanching. 

Some blanch it by heaping on it sea sand ; some common 
sand and gravel ; and others with large garden pots, inverted 
and placed immediately over the plants. If these pots be 
covered up with fresh horse dung, it will forward the shoots 
in growth, and make them sweeter and more tender. 

When your plants have been covered in either method 
three or four weeks, examine them, and if you find that the 
stalks have shot up three or four inches, you may begin 
cutting; should you wait till all the shoots are of considerable 
length, your crop will come in too much at once, for in this 
plant there is not that successive growth which there is in 
Asparagus; you may continue cutting until you see the 



76 SORREL. 

heads of flowers begin to form ; and if at this time you 
uncover it entirely, and let it proceed to that state in which 
Broccoli is usually cut, and use it as such, you will find it 
an excellent substitute ; and this greatly enhances the value 
of the plant; as Broccoli does not stand our winter frost, and 
can only be had when carefully protected, as recommended 
under that head ; but this plant is sufficiently hardy to bear 
our winter frost, without much injury. You are not to 
weaken the roots too much by over-cutting, for in that 
case it would injure their next year's bearing : some of the 
shoots should be allowed to grow, to carry on a proper 
vegetation, to strengthen and enlarge the roots. Great care 
should be taken in cutting, not to injure the crowns of the 
roots by cutting the shoots too close to them. Sea-Kale 
should be dressed soon after it is cut, as the goodness of the 
article greatly depends on its not being long exposed to the 
air. 

If you choose to force Sea-Kale, dig a trench all round a 
small bed, about three feet wide, and thirty inches deep ; fill 
it with hot dung, and as it sinks, raise it. This will make 
the plants grow ; and if hand lights are set over them, it will 
accelerate their growth. 

To have this rare vegetable in perfection, it should b € 
cooked as soon as gathered. Let it be first soaked in water, 
seasoned with salt, for half an hour ; then wash it in fresh 
water, and put it into the cooking utensil ; keep it boiling 
briskly, skim clean, and let off steam. When the stalks are 
tender, which may be expected in from fifteen to twenty-five 
minutes, according to size and age, take it up, dish it, and 
serve it up with melted butter, gravy, and such condiments 
as may be most agreeable to the palate. 



SORREL. 

Oseille des jardins. Rumex acetosa. 

The seeds of the Broad-leaved English Sorrel, and also 
of the Round-leaved or French Sorrel, may be sown in April 



SKIRRET* AND SHALLOT. 77 

Simd" May, in beds or borders, and covered lightly. "When 
the plants are up, keep them free from weeds ; they may be 
afterwards thinned, to the distance of nine inches from each 
other, or transplanted into fresh ground* 

The old standing roots of either kind may be separated, 
and planted for increase ; this should be done in April. 
As fast as the plants shoot up to seed, cut them down 
close, and a new crop of leaves will be produced. It is used 
raw as a salad, or boiled for greens. 



SKIRRET. 

Chervis, on Gyrole. Slum sisai~um. 

* 

This plant is first cultivated by seed, and afterwards by 
offsets taken from the old roots, and planted very early in the 
spring, and before they begin to shoot ; but it is best to raise 
a small bed from seed every year, as the roots grow longer 
than those raised from slips, and are less liable to be sticky 
The seed may be sown in drills the latter part of March, or 
early in April, and managed the same as Salsify, Parsnips, 
&c. In autumn, when the leaves begin to decay, the roots 
are fit to use, and continue so till they begin to shoot in the 
spring, 

Skirrets should be planted in a light, moist soil, for in dry 
land the roots are generally small, unless the season proves 
wet. 

The root of the Skirret is composed of several fleshy tubers 
as large as a man's finger, and joined together at the top. 
They are eaten boiled, and stewed with batter, pepper and 
salt, or rolled in flour and fried, or else cold, with oil and 
vinegar, being first boiled. They have much of the taste 
and flavour of a Parsnip, but a great deal more palatable. 



SHALLOT. 

Echalote. Allium ascalonicum. 

The true Shallot is a native of Palestine, and is considered 

7* 



78 SPINACH. 

to possess the most agreeable flavour of any of the Allium 
genus; it is consequently highly deserving of cultivation. 

It is propagated by planting bulbs, or offsets, in the fall 
of the year, which may be set out with a dibble, in 
rows twelve inches apart, by four or six inches distance in 
the rows ; or they may be placed in drills, two or three 
inches deep, and covered up with a trowel or hoe. The 
gardeners about New-York plant large quantities of the 
bulbs early in September ; by this means they are enabled 
to supply the market in April and May with a mild Allium 
which meets a ready sale. 

After the tops die down, the bulbs must be taken up, and 
the offsets divided : a portion of these should be kept in a 
dry place to plant the ensuing autumn. 

It will require at least four bushels of bulbs, if measured 
when first taken from the ground, to plant a quarter of an 
acre ; because after they are trimmed and deprived of their 
seed stalks, the bulk will be reduced one half. 



SPINACH, OR SPINAGE. 

Epinard. Sjnnacia. 

VARIETIES. 

Round-leaved. Flanders, or Large-leaved. 

Prickly, or Angular-leaved. Holland, or Lamb's Quarter. 

New Zealand, or Tetragsna expanse 

The Spmacia oleracea, or common Spinach, is very 
hardy, and consequently a very important vegetable for 
cold climates. It merits attention, from its being extremely 
wholesome and palatable, and from its keeping green even 
after having been cooked. It makes a delicious dish when 
served up with the gravy of roast meat, melted butter, &c. 

As Spinach is the only vegetable that can be raised to 
advantage the latter end of the year, the gardener should 
prepare such ground as may have been occupied by summer 
crops, towards the end of August, and by having it well 



spinach. 7g 

manured for this crop, it will be in good condition for Beets, 
Carrots, Parsnips, Turnips, &c. the spring following. 

If the ground be got ready, so as to have several beds 
sown in .succession, from the first to the end of September, 
the forwardest of these, if covered up with straw at the 
approach of cold weather, will furnish greens for the table 
when other vegetables are scarce, and the latter crops will 
recover the effects of a hard winter, and produce a whole- 
some vegetable early in the spring. 

If Spinach seed be sown in rich ground in March and 
April, it will grow freely, but it must be cut before the 
approach of hot weather, or it will run to seed. To raise 
it in perfection at this season, it should be sown in drills 
about a foot apart, and kept cultivated by frequent hoeing ; 
this will keep it in a growing state, and consequently pre- 
vent its running up to seed so quick as it otherwise would. 

It is altogether useless to sow Spinach seed in poor 
ground ; let the ground be well manured with good strong 
dung, and it will well reward you for your trouble by its 
abundant produce. 

If Spinach be cultivated in drills a foot apart, it will 
require from seven to eight pounds of seed to plant an acre 
of ground. Some gardeners use more than double that 
quantity in sowing broadcast. 

Be careful to pick Spinach exceedingly clean, and wash 
it in five or six waters previous to cooking it. Some cook 
Spinach in a steamer over boiling water, others boil it in 
water ; but the best way is to put it into a saucepan that 
will just hold it, without water, then strew a little salt upon 
it, and' cover it close. Put your saucepan on a clear quick 
fire ; and when you find the Spinach shrunk and fallen to 
the bottom, and the juice which comes from it boil up, it is 
done. In order that it be rendered capable of absorbing a 
moderate quantity of gravy, melted butter, &c. which are 
indispensable with green vegetables, let it be well drained 
in a sieve, or colander, before it is dished. 

The New Zealand Spinach is of late introduction into 
this country ; its nature seems to be opposite to the common 
Spinach, as it will endure the heat better than the cold. It 



BO SQUASH. 

may be obtained in the summer, by planting the seeds in 
April and May. Being of luxuriant growth, it should be 
planted in hills three feet apart, and about two seeds in a 
hill. The leaves will be fit for use during the summer, and 
until late in the autumn. 



SQUASH. 

Gourde Giraumon ou Potiron. Cucurbita melopepa, 

VARIETIES. 



Early Bush Squash. 
Early Croukneck. 
Large Summer Bell. 



Vegetable Marrow. 
Winter Crookneck. 
Lima Cocoanut. 



The several varieties of Squashes are very useful in this 
and other warm climates, as they can be grown in perfec- 
tion in the summer, and therefore prove a good substitute 
for Turnips, which cannot be raised in perfection in hot 
weather. They should be planted in hills, prepared in the 
same manner as for Cucumbers and Melons, and their sub- 
sequent management is the same in every respect.* The 
bush kinds should be planted three or four feet apart, and 
the running kinds from six to nine, according to their 
nature, as some will run more than others. It is always 
best to plant five or six seeds in a hill, to guard against 
accidents ; as when the plants are past danger, they can be 
thinned to two or three in a hill. The fruit of the Early 
Summer Squashes is generally gathered for use before the 
skin gets hard, and while it is so tender as to give way to a 
moderate pressure of the thumb nail. The Winter Squashes 
should be suffered to ripen, and collected together in 
October, in the manner recommended in the calendar for 
that month. 

All kinds of Squashes should, after having been boiled 
tender, be pressed as close as possible between two wooden 



* One ounce of Squash Seed will plant from fifty to one hundred hills, 
according to the sorts and size of the seed. 



TOMATO. gj 

trenchers, or by means of a slice or skimmer, made of the 
same materials, until dry, and then prepared for the table 
in the same manner as Turnips. 



TOMATO. 

Tomate, ou Pomme d 'amour. Solarium lycopersicum. 

VARIETIES. 

Large Squash-shaped. | Cherry-shaped. 

The Tomato, or Love Apple, is much cultivated for its 
fruit, in soups and sauces, to which it imparts an agreeable 
acid flavour ; it is also stewed and dressed in various ways, 
and is considered very wholesome. 

The seed should be sown early in March, in a slight hot- 
bed, and the plants set out in the open ground, if settled 
warm weather, in the early part of May.* In private gar- 
dens it will be necessary to plant them near a fence, or to 
provide trellises for them to be trained to, in the manner 
recommended for Nasturtiums ; they will, however, do very 
well, if planted out four feet distant from each other every 
way, 

This fruit may be brought to perfection late in the sum- 
mer, by sowing the seed in the open ground the first week 
in May ; these plants will be fit to transplant early in June, 

Tomatoes may be preserved in a stone or glazed earthen 
pot, for use in the winter, by covering them with water in 
which a sufficient quantity of salt has been dissolved to 
make it strong enough to bear an egg. Select perfectly 
ripe berries, and cover the pot with a plate in such a man- 
ner that it presses upon the fruit without bruising it. — 
Previous to cooking these Tomatoes, they should be soaked 
in fresh water for several hours. 

Besides the various modes of preparing this delicious 



* One ounce of good Tomato Seed will produce upwards of four thou- 
sand plants ; and a single plant has been known to yield upwards of a 
bushel of fruit. 



82 



TURNIP. 



vegetable for the table, it may, after being deprived of the 
ekin, be preserved in sugar, and used either as a dessert, 
or on the tea-table, as a substitute for Peaches or other 
sweetmeats. It also makes exquisite pies and tarts, and 
excellent catsup. 



TURNIP. 



Navet. Brassica rapa. 



VARIETIES. 



Early Garden Stone. 
Early White Dutch. 
Swan's Egg. 
Early Red Top. 
Early Gieen Top. 
Yellow Stone. 
Yellow Maltese. 
Long Yellow French. 



J ' 



Large English Norfolk. 
Long Tankard, or Hanover. 
White Flat, or Globe. 
Large Bullock. 
Y"ellow Altringham. 
Dale's Yellow Hybrid. 
Yellow Aberdeen. 
Russia, Swedish, or Ruta Baga. 



This is a wholesome and useful plant, both for man and 
beast, and highly deserving of cultivation. Its being the 
last esculent vegetable on our catalogue, that is raised from 
seeds sold at our several seed stores, I shall endeavour to 
stimulate those of our yeomanry who have hitherto neg- 
lected the culture of this field as well as garden production, 
to exertion and diligence, by inserting a few extracts from 
a paper that now lies before me. 

" Culture of Turnips. — Until the beginning of the eigh- 
teenth century, this valuable root was cultivated only in 
gardens, or other small spots, for culinary purposes ; but 
Lord Townsend, who attended King George the First in 
one of his excursions to Germany, in the quality of Secre- 
tary of State, observed the Turnip cultivated in open and 
extensive fields, as fodder for cattle, and spreading fertility 
over lands naturally barren, on his return to England, 
brought over some of the seed, and strongly recommended 
the practice which he had witnessed, to the adoption of his 
own tenants, who occupied a soil similar to that of Hanover. 
The experiment succeeded ; the cultivation of Field Tur- 
nips gradually spread over the whole county of Norfolk, 
and has made its way into every other district of England, 



TURNIP. 83 

The reputation of the county as an agricultural district, 
dates from the vast improvements of heaths, wastes, sheep 
walks, and warrens, by enclosing and manuring ; the fruits 
of the zealous exertions of Lord Townsend, and a few 
neighbouring land owners, which were, ere long, imitated 
by others. Since these improvements were effected, rents 
have risen in that county from one or two shillings to twenty 
shillings an acre ; a county consisting chiefly of sheep walks 
and rabbit warrens, has been rendered highly productive ; 
and, by dint of management, what was thus gained has 
been preserved and improved to the present moment. Some 
of the finest grain crops in the world are now growing upon 
land, which, before the introduction of the Turnip hus- 
bandry, produced a very scanty supply of grass for a few 
lean and half-starved rabbits. 

" Mr. Colquhoun, in his 'Statistical Researches,' estima- 
ted the value of the Turnip crop annually growing in the 
united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, at fourteen 
million pounds sterling, (equal to upwards of sixty millions 
of dollars.) But when we further recollect, that it enables 
the agriculturist to reclaim and cultivate land, which with- 
out . its aid, would remain in a hopeless state of natural 
barrenness, that it leaves the land clean and in fine condition, 
and also to insure a good crop of Barley, and a kind plant 
of Clover, and that this Clover is found a most excellent 
preparative for Wheat, it will appear that the subsequent 
advantages derived from a crop of Turnips must infinitely 
exceed its estimated value as fodder for cattle." (Sir 
William Scott in the Quarterly Review.) As I have under- 
taken to " assist the Young Gardener," I shall proceed to 
point out the most proper, means of cultivating this truly 
valuable vegetable in his garden. 

The preceding remarks show the kind of land that may 
be made capable of producing not only Turnips, but other 
things of equal value. It must however be granted, that 
some soils naturally suit particular kinds of vegetables better 
than others, and that in general, exotic plants will succeed 
best in such soils as are nearest like their own native soiL 
As we have not always a choice, I would inform the Young 



84 TURNIP. 

Gardener, if he has a very light soil which is not suitable for 
vegetables in general, he may sometimes get two crops of 
Turnips from it in one year, by sowing seed for the first 
crop early in March, and that for his second, in the middle of 
August. For general crops, it will be better to have ground 
manured with short rotten dung, or compost, containing a 
considerable proportion of coal, wood, peat, or soaper's 
ashe3. Ground that has been well manured for preceding 
crops, and also ground fresh broken up, will suit well for 
Turnips. 

Previous to sowing Turnip seed, the gardener should 
procure a suitable quantity of lime, soot, or tobacco dust, 
so as to be prepared for the attacks of insects. It should be 
recollected that Turnip seed will sometimes sprout within 
forty-eight hours after it is sown, and that very frequently 
whole crops are devoured before a plant is seen above 
oround. A peck of either of these ingredients, mixed 
with about an equal quantity of ashes, or even dry road 
dust, sown morning and evening for the first week 
after sowing the seed, would secure an acre of ground, 
provided it be so contrived that the wind carry it over 
the whole piece of land, and as it often changes, this 
may be effected by crossing the land in a different direction 
every time according as the wind may serve. As some very 
erroneous ideas have been extensively circulated in re- 
spectable periodicals, respecting the cultivation of this 
valuable root, I would earnestly recommend that particular 
attention be paid to the time of sowing the seed, for if the 
first crop be not sown soon enough to be gathered early in 
July, they are seldom fit for the table, being hot, stringy, and 
wormy ; and if the crop intended for autumn and winter 
use be sown long before August, unless it be a very favour- 
able season, if even they escape the attacks of insects and 
reptiles, they often get so defective, that they seldom keep 
the winter. To have Turnips in perfection, they should 
be hoed in about a month after they are sown, or by the 
time the plants spread a circle of about four inches, and 
again, in about a month from the first hoeing, leaving them 
from six to nine inches apart, they will yield the cultivator 



TURNIP. g£ 

Bftore profit this way, than when left to nature, as is too 
frequently done. 

It is generally admitted that one pound of Turnip seed is 
amply sufficient for an acre of ground, yet some will use 
considerably more, because of the difficulty of distributing so 
small a quantity of seed regularly broadcast. This difficulty 
is however obviated by sowing the seed in drills, and 
although it may seem a tedious process to those who have 
no other means of doing it than by hand, the facilities 
afforded of hoeing between the rows, more than compensates 
for the extra labour. I once induced a friend of mine to 
sow four ounces of Turnip seed, in drills a foot apart, 
by which means he made it extend over upwards of half an 
acre of land, and by hoeing the plants twice, he had the 
gratification of pulling four hundred bushels of handsome 
Turnips, which is more than is generally taken from an 
acre of land cultivated in the ordinary way. 

The most esteemed kinds of Turnips for gardens, are 
marked in the catalogue, I shall therefore leave my readers 
to their own choice. 

As the Yellow Swedish, or Russian Turnip, or Ruta 
Baga, is in great repute, I shall quote a few lines from the 
44 American Gardener," by William Cobbett, the great 
•advocate for Ruta Baga. 

" The Swedish Turnip, so generally preferred for table 
«se here, and so seldom used for the table in England, ought 
to be sown early in June, in rows at a foot apart, and thin- 
ned to three inches in the rows. About the middle of July 
they should be transplanted upon ridges three feet apart, (in 
a garden,) and during their growth, ought to be kept clear of 
weeds, and to be dug between, twice at least, as deep as a 
good spade can be made to go ; but the Swedish Turnip is 
of further use as producing the most excellent greens in the 
spring, and at a very early season. To draw this benefit 
from them, the best way is to leave a row or two in 
the ground, and when the winter is about to set in, cover 
them all over with straw, or cedar boughs. Take these off 
whea the winter breaks up, and you will have very early 

8 



86 TURNIP- 

and most excellent greens ; and when you have done witb 
the greens, the Turnips are very good to eat." 

If the seeds of the Russia Turnip be sown in drills, about 
the middle of July, or even early in August, they will make 
fine roots by autumn, without transplanting, provided the 
ground be good, and well worked. When the plants are up 
strong, they must be hoed and thinned to the distance of 
twelve or fifteen inches from each other; another hoeing 
will be necessary in five or six weeks afterwards. Thia 
will make them grow freely. 

The Turnip is a favourite vegetable with some, and in 
England, a leg of mutton and caper sauce is considered by 
epicures as but half a dish without mashed Turnips. To 
have them in perfection, they should, after having been 
deprived of their rind, be equalized by cutting the largest 
transversely in the centre, and then after being boiled tender, 
let them be taken up, and pressed as dry as possible : at the 
same time, let a lump of butter and a due portion of Cay- 
enne pepper and salt be added, and be beaten up with the 
Turnips until properly mixed. Use the natural gravy from 
the meat unadulterated, and such condiment as may be 
most esteemed. 



87 



AROMATIC, POT, & SWEET HERBS, 

GrAINES d'HeRBES ArOMATIQUES, ODORIFERANTES ET 
A L'USAGE DE LA CUISINE. 



Angelica Garden, 

Anise, 

Basil Sweet, 

Bush Basil, 

Borage, 

Caraway, 

Clary, 

Coriander, 

Dill, 

* Fennel, Common, 

* do. Sweet, 
Marigold, Pot, 

* Marjoram Sweet, 

* Mint, Spear, 

* do. Pepper, 

* do. Pennyroyal, 

* Sage, Common, 

* Sage, Red, 
Savory, Summer, 

* do. Winter, 

* Tarragon, 

* Thyme, Common, 

* do. Lemon, 



Angelica atropurpurea. 
Pimpinella anisum. 
Ocymum basilicum. 

do, minimum. 
Bora go officinalis. 
Carum carui. 
Salvia sclara. 
Coriandrum sativum. 
A nethum graveolens. 

do. fceniculum, 

do. dulce. 
Calendula officinalis. 
Origanum marjorana,. 
Mentha virides. 

do. piperita, 

do. pulegium. 
Salvia officinalis. 

do. clandestinoides. 
Satureja hortensis. 

do. montana. 
Artemisia dracunculus. 
Thymus vulgaris. 

do. serpyllum. 



Aromatic Herbs are such as impart a strong spicy odour 
and savoury taste ; many of them are used as small pot 
herbs, and for sauces, stuffings, and other uses in cooking. 
As only a small quantity of these are necessary in private 
gardens, a bye corner may be allotted for them, and such 
medical herbs as may be wanted in a family. 

It may be necessary for me to explain, as we go along, 
that there are three principal descriptive names given to 
plants, namely, Annuals, Biennials, and Perennials. The 
annuals being but of one season's duration, are raised every 
year from seed. The biennial kinds are raised from seed one 
year, continue till the second perfect their seed, and soon 
after die ; some of these should be also raised every year 
from seed. The perennials may be also raised from seed, 



88 MEDICINAL HERBS. 

but when once raised, they will continue on the same roots 
many years. Those marked * are of the latter description, 
and may be propagated by suckers, offsets, cuttings, or 
partings, of the roots. Those who have not already a 
plantation of these herbs, may sow seeds of any of the 
different kinds in March or April, in drills about an inch 
deep, and twelve inches apart, each kind by itself. The 
plants may be afterwards transplanted into separate beds ; 
or, if a drill for each kind be drawn two feet apart, the seed 
may be sown in them, and the plants afterwards thinned out 
to proper distances, according to the natural growth of the 
different kinds of plants. 



Plants cultivated for Medicinal Purposes, Ape. 
Graines de Plantes Medicinal. 



Bene, 

Boneset, or Thorough wort, 

* Balm, 

Bean, Castor Oil, 
Burdock, 
Oatnep, 
Celandine,. 

* Chamomile, 

* Comfrey, 

* Elecampane, 
Feverfew, 

* Horehound, 

* Horsemint, 

* Hyssop, 

* Lavender, 
Lovage, 

* Mallow, Marsh, 

* Motherwort, 

* Pinkroot, Carolina,. 
Poppy Opium, (annual,) 

* Rosemary, 

* Rue, Garden, 
Saffron, Bastard, 

* Scullcap, or Mad Dog Plant, 

* Snakeroot, Virginian, 



Sesamum orientate. 
Ewpatorium perfoliatum. 
Melissa officinalis. 
Recinus communis. 
Arctium lappa. 
Nepeta cataria. 
Chelidonum ma jus. 
Anthemis nobilis. 
Spmphylum officinale. 
Inula helenium. 
Chrysanthemum parthenium. 
Marubium vulgare. 
Monarda punctata. 
Hyssopus officinalis. 
Lavendula spica. 
Ligusticum Icvisiicum. 
Althea officinalis. 
Leonurus cardiaca. 
Spigelia Marylandica. 
Paparer somniferum. 
Rosmarinus officinalis. 
Ruta graveolens. 
Carthamus tinctorius. 
Scutellaria latcrifiora. 
Aristolochia setpentaria* 



MEDICINAL HERBS. $Q 

* Southernwood, Artemisia abrotanum. 

* Speedwell, Virginian, Veronica Virginica. 

* Spikenard, Aralia racemosa. 

* Tansey, Tanacetum vulgare. 

* Wormwood, Artemisia absinthium. 

The generality of aromatic, sweet, and medicinal herbs, 
may be raised from seed sown in March and April. The 
greater part of the above described plants are perennial, and 
will multiply from seeds they drop, or from partings from 
the roots. The offsets, roots or young plants thus raised 
should be planted at suitable distances from each other 
early in the spring. The beds should be afterwards kept 
free from weeds, and as the herbs come into flower, they 4 
should be cut on a dry day, and spread in a shady place to 
dry for winter use. The best way to preserve them after 
they are dried, is to rub them, so as to pass them through 
a sieve, then pack them in bottles or boxes, each kind 
separate ; they should be afterwards kept in a dry place. 
In the month of October, the beds should be examined. 
Lavender, Rosemary, and other tender herbs, should be 
taken up, potted, and placed in a frame or greenhouse for 
the winter. Thyme, Hyssop, Winter Savory, Southern- 
wood, Sage, Rue, and the like, will require their tops to be 
neatly dressed ; and Pot Marjoram, Burnet, Tarragon, 
Tansey, Pennyroyal, Sorrel, Camomile, Fennel, Hore- 
hound, Mint, Lovage, and other kinds of hardy perennial 
herbs, should be cut down close to the ground. After this, 
it will be proper to dig lightly, and loosen the ground 
between the roots of the shrubby plants ; but the beds of 
close-growing running plants, such as Mint, Running 
Thyme, and all other creeping herbs, will not well admit of 
digging ; therefore, after the stalks are cut down, and the 
beds cleared of weeds, dig the alleys and strew some of the 
loose earth evenly over the beds ; and if the ground be 
rather poor or light, a top dressing of very rotten dung will 
be of considerable service. 

This dressing will give proper nurture and protection to 
the roots of the plants, a neat appearance to the whole, and 
in spring the shoots will rise with renewed vigour. 

8» 



90 PLAN OF BEDS, &C> 

Having finished the catalogue, I proceed to give direc- 
tions for making the most of a piece of ground well ma- 
nured for early crops. In the general directions at the 
commencement, I observed that good rich manure was 
indispensably necessary to the production of some particular 
kinds of vegetables ; it may be further observed, that rich 
ground will produce two or three valuable crops, but it 
requires some attention to make use of it to the best ad- 
vantage. If the gardener has leisure to dig such ground in 
March or April, as he intends for Beans, Cucumbers, To- 
matoes, Egg-plants, or other tender plants, he may raise 
Radishes, Spinach, Lettuce, or other small salads on it, by 
leaving a space for his hills or drills ; or Radish seed may 
be sown lightly over the beds of Beets, Carrots, Parsnips, 
&c, but they must not be suffered to run to seed, as this 
would injure the other plants. "When the first crops are 
gathered, it requires a little consideration before a second is 
planted, in order that a sufficient quantity of the best ground 
be reserved for the most particular and valuable kinds of 
vegetables. 

That I may be understood, I have adopted the following 
plans, representing beds of earth ; this will answer the 
same purpose as bringing my readers on the ground. 



No. 1. The following fines represent drills six inches apart: 



March 25. — Sow Parsley. Onion, or other small seeds. 



►Sow Radish seed. 



Sow Parsley, Onion, or other small seeds. 



The Radishes being pulled early in May, leaves the 
intermediate ground for the other plants. 



PLAN 07 BEDS, &C. g| 

No. 2. Drills ten inches apart : 

April 1. — Sow Spinach, or Radish seed. 

]5. — Plant early Cabbage Plants. 



April 1. — Sow Spinach, or Radish seed. 



By the time the Cabbage requires the whole of the ground, 
the Spinach or Radishes may be gathered. 

If this bed be cleared of the second crop by the middle 
of July, it may be planted with Celery, Turnips, or Black 
Radishes. If the Cabbage be of the late heading kinds, the 
ground may be reserved for the first sowing of Spinach, 
Fetticus, Lettuce, dec. in which case it will require a fresh 
coat of manure. 



No. 3. Rows, or drills, fourteen inches apart : 



March 20.— Plant Hardy .Lettuce Plants. 



Do. Hardy JLettuce Plants. 



Hoe them the first week in April — previous to hoeing the 
second time, draw a drill between each row of plants, and 
plant Beet or Carrot seed ; this may be covered up in hoeing 
the Lettuce, and by the time the plants are up strong, the 
Lettuce will be fit to cut. If these roots are well attended 
to, they may be cleared off soon enough to produce fall 
Cabbage, Leeks, Celery, Turnips, Black Radishes, &e. 



HOT-BEDS. 

No. 4. Rows) or drills, sixteen inches apart. 



March 25.— Plant hiardy Lettuce Plants. 



Do. 



idardy Lettuce Plants. 



April 20—- Plant Early York Cabbage Plants, either between trie row* 
or between the Lettuce. 

As soon as the Lettuce is off, hoe the Cabbage, and 
it will soon cover the ground. 

This ground will be suitable for a crop cf any of the kinds 
above-mentioned, except Cabbage, the roots of which are 
apt to get defective if the same ground be planted with 
Cabbage twice in succession. 

The above, or preceding plans, present a fair specimen of 
what may be done on a small piece of good ground. If the 
young gardener will take the trouble to keep an account of 
his transactions, he would soon make discoveries of still 
greater importance. If he be not sufficiently acquainted 
with the different kinds of Cabbage plants, for instance, so 
as to distinguish the one from the other, he, by making a 
memorandum at the time of sowing the seed, would soon get 
acquainted with the different kinds of plants ; he would also 
discover the difference in the growing of his seeds, and know 
who to blame if any particular kind should not come up. 
The following represents a Hot-Bed with four sashes, sown March 1st, 



Thorb urn's 


Smith's Early 


Bridgeman's 


Tomato and 


Early York 


Battersea Cab- 


Early 


Egg-plant Seeds 
in 


Cabbage Seed. 


bage Seed. 


Lettuce Seed. 


shallow drills. 



HOT-BEDS. 



93 



It may be necessary to remind my readers of the necessity 
of being always prepared to sow Cabbage, Egg-plant, Let- 
tuce, and Tomatoe seeds in hot-beds the last week in 
February or early in March ; for this purpose, let some fresh 
stable dung and rich compost be engaged beforehand. 
Some gardeners make their beds on the level ground, but it 
is always safest to make them in pits from eighteen inches 
to two feet deep ; in order to do this, the pits should be dug 
in the fall, or a heap of dung may be deposited on the 
ground intended for the beds before the frost sets in, and 
good earth may be obtained from the pits without any 
difficulty. 

The frames should be made of good sound planks ; the 
back plank may be two feet wide, and the end ones may be 
so sloped as to make a fifteen inch plank do for the front. 
A frame calculated for four sashes of three feet in width by 
six in length, as above described, should be nearly thirteen 
feet long, and about six broad at the top. 

The frame being set over the pit, and properly fastened, 
the fresh dung should be spread regularly in the pit to 
the depth of twenty to twenty-four inches ; if the dung be in 
a good heating condition, cover it with six or eight inches 
deep of mould, then lay on the sashes, and protect the bed3 
from the inclemency of the weather. In two or three days 
the rank steam may pass off; it will then be necessary to stir 
the mould before the seed be sown, to prevent the growth of 
young weeds that may be germinating ; then sow the seed 
as equally as possible, reserving a small quantity of the 
warm mould to be sown or sifted over the seeds. The beds 
should be afterwards attended to, as directed for Broccoli 
and Cauliflower. This description of a hot-bed is intended 
expressly for the raising of Spring Cabbage, Lettuce, To- 
matoes, and such other plants as may be required for early 
planting. Beds made earlier in the season, or for forcing, 
will require a greater substance of manure. See calendar 
for January, February, and March. 



94 
OBSERVATIONS 

ON 

FORCING VEGETABLES 



Before I commenced preparing this work for the press, I 
intended to have written largely on the subject of forcing 
fruits, as well as vegetables ; but when I considered my 
motto, and that I was writing for young gardeners, I con- 
cluded to occupy my pages in such a manner as to effect 
the greatest possible good at the smallest expense. Of the 
several branches of Horticulture, some are of greater im- 
portance than others ; and as the products of the kitchen 
garden form important articles of food for the bulk of man- 
kind, it should be our first care to treat largely on the sub- 
ject of this most useful part of gardening. Next to this is 
the cultivation of fruits, and the production of ornamental 
plants and flowers, each of which will be noticed as we 
proceed. As I stand pledged to offer some remarks on 
forcing, or rather forwarding vegetables by artificial means, 
I shall endeavour to confine my observations to such points 
as are of primary importance ; and in order to convince my 
readers of the importance of this subject, I shall first endea- 
vour to show the utility of an artificial climate suited to the 
various kinds of useful plants. In England, a regular 
succession of vegetables can be obtained from the natural 
ground in every month of the year, and their fruits, from the 
summer heat being moderate, are of longer continuance 
than with us, and yet they make gardening a science, and 
employ the elements, as well as the ingenuity of man, to the 
production of fruits and vegetables out of the ordinary 
season. 

I shall not attempt to treat of the cultivation of Pine 
Apples, Grapes, Cherries, or other fruits grown in forcing 
houses ; nor would it be advisable with us to undertake to 
raise Cucumbers, Melons, &c. in frames throughout our 



FORCING VEGETABLES. £5 

severe winters ; but it must be acknowledged, that the 
extreme heat of our summers is as detrimental to the cul- 
tivation of some of the most valuable kinds of fruits and 
vegetables, as the coldness of our winters, and for those 
reasons, artificial aid is more necessary here in the winter 
and spring of the year than in England. The inhabitants 
of that country may obtain a supply of the different va- 
rieties of Artichokes, Broad Beans, Borecole, Broccoli, 
Cauliflower, Kale, Lettuce, Radishes, Rhubarb, Spinach, 
Turnips, and Salads in general, a great part of the year, 
from their kitchen gardens, whereas, if we were to attempt 
to supply our markets with culinary vegetables at all times, 
in any thing like the abundance that they have them there, 
we must turn our attention to the protecting and forwarding 
as well as the forcing system. 

Before I proceed to show the method of forcing vegeta- 
bles, it may be necessary for me to remind my readers, that 
in providing an artificial climate, they should consider the 
nature of the plants they intend to cultivate, and endeavour 
to supply them with that which is best calculated to nourish 
and support them, I have, in another part of this work, 
endeavoured to show, that heat, light, air and moisture, are 
each essential to vegetation, and that these should be sup- 
plied in a judicious manner, according to circumstances. 

In the midst of our winters, which is the usual time for 
forcing in England, we are subject to north-west winds, 
which produce extreme freezing. Now, as we have not yet 
discovered how to make an artificial air, it will not be safe 
for the gardener to raise a bottom heat under any kind of 
vegetable, until such times as he can impart a tolerable 
share of salubrious air, as the heat without air will soon 
destroy the fruits of his labour. Perhaps the safest time to 
commence forcing in frames, is soon after the middle of 
February, and the early part of March. I before hinted, 
that the depth of heating materials must be regulated by the 
season of the year at which the work is commenced, and also 
to the purposes for which the hot-beds are intended. Bed* 
used for the purpose of raising half hardy plants, or f&r 
proeuring seedling plants late ia the spring, may be made 



96 FORCING VEGETABLES. 

in the manner recommended for the common hot-bed ; but 
if substantial heat is required to be kept up, the beds must 
be so contrived as to admit of linings as the heat decreases ; 
and the dung should undergo a regular process of prepara- 
tion, according to the use it is intended for. Compost heaps 
should also be provided, in order to furnish suitable mould 
to the different kinds of plants ; for this purpose, all the old 
hot-bed dung and mould, leaves, tan, turf, sand, and other 
light manures and decayed animal dung, should be collected 
together. 

In some cases when a slight hot-bed is recommended 
for forwarding hardy plants, if it should happen that a 
seedling cucumber bed be at liberty, it may answer every 
purpose for Radishes, Lettuce, or other hardy plants ; or 
such a bed may be spawned for Mushrooms, if required. 

If the forcing be commenced before the coldest of the 
winter is past, great precaution must be used lest the plants 
should be injured by cold cutting winds, or destroyed by 
heat for want of air. To prevent the former accident, warm 
dung should be placed around the frames, and the sashes 
should be covered with mats and boards every night. If 
full air cannot be admitted in the day time, the sashes must 
be slidden down to let off the steam, at the same time the 
mats may be laid over the aperture, to prevent cold air 
entering to the plants. 

If the bottom heat in a bed be too violent, which is some- 
times the case, means must be used to decrease it. This is 
generally efFected by making holes in the bed with a stake 
sharpened at the end, or with a crow-bar; which holes 
should be filled up when the heat is sufficiently reduced. In 
lining hot-beds, if the heat is reduced in the body of 
the beds, holes may be carefully made to admit heat from 
the fresh linings, so as to enliven the heat of the bed. 

A Fahrenheit Thermometer should be always at hand, 
at the time of forcing, to be used when necessary, to regulate 
the heat in the beds ; and the water that is used in cultiva- 
ting plants in frames, should be warmed to the temperature 
of the air, or according to the heat required for the various 
kinds of plants, which will be shown in the annexed articles. 



97 



FORCING ASPARAGUS IN HOT-BEDS. 

As Asparagus is apt to grow weak and slender by extreme 
bottom heat, it is forced with greater success, and with less 
trouble, in flued pits in a hot house, than in dung hot-beds, 
because the heat from tan is more regular ; but a very suit- 
able bed may be formed in a deep hot-bed frame, made in 
the usual way. If dung alone, or a mixture of dung and 
leaves be used, it should be in a state past heating violently 
before it is made into a bed ; but if the gardener has no 
choice of materials, he may make his hot-bed in the usual 
way, and if the depth of heating materials be two feet, he 
may lay on a foot of old hot-bed dung, tan or any light 
compost, that will admit of the heat passing through it. It 
may be necessary to state further, that though too much 
bottom heat should be avoided; heat is necessary to the 
production of the vegetable in a moderate time, which 
is generally effected in a month or six weeks after the 
commencement of the operations. For the purpose of 
keeping up a regular heat, a lining of hot dung should be 
applied around the frame, and changed as occasion requires. 
Provide plants from two to four, or even six years old, trim 
their roots, and place them in rows on the beds ; when one 
row is laid, strew a little mould among the roots, then pro- 
ceed in the same way with one row after another, keeping 
them on a level, as the surface of the bed at first lay, till you 
have finished planting them ; then lay among the buds and 
roots some fine vegetable, or other rich mould, working it 
in amongst them with your fingers, and cover the beds over 
about an inch thick, and above that lay three inches in 
depth of vegetable mould not very rotten, old tan or any 
other light compost that will admit the water to run quickly 
through. If there be a strong heat in the bed, slide down 
the sashes till it begins to decline. The temperature at night 
should never be under 50° and it may rise to 65° without 
injury ; when the buds begin to appear, as much air must be 
daily admitted as the weather will permit. In two or three 
days after the beds are planted, the heat will begin to rise ; 
the beds should then have a moderate supply of water ap- 




98 FORWARDING BROAD BEANS. 

plied from a watering pot with the rose on; repeat such 
watering every three or four days. When the buds are up 
three inches above the surface, they are fit to gather for use, 
as they will then be six or seven inches in length. In 
gathering them, draw aside a little of the mould, slip down 
the finger and thumb, twist them off" from the crown : this is 
a better method than to cut them ; at least it is less danger- 
ous to the rising buds, which come up thick in succession* 

An ordinary sized frame calculated for three sashes will 

hold from three hundred to five hundred plants according 
to the age and size, and will, if properly managed, yield a 
dish every day for about three weeks. On the above esti- 
mate, if a constant succession of Asparagus be required, it 
will be necessary to plant a bed every eighteen or twenty 
days. 

Rhubarb and Sea Kale may be, and sometimes are, 
forced in the same manner as Asparagus ; but the most 
general mode is to excite them where they stand in the open 
garden, by the application of warm dung. 



FORWARDING BROAD BEANS, OR ENGLISH DWARFS. 

In the article, Broad Bean, vicia faba, I have already 

urged the necessity of early planting, in order that a full crop 

may be insured before the approach of warm weather ; but 

as the ground is often frozen at the time they ought to be 

planted, some of the best kinds may be planted in boxes, and 

placed in a moderate hot-bed in February, or early in March. 

If the plants thus raised be not nursed too tender, they may 

be transplanted into the openground the latter end of March; 

this will enable them to produce their fruit early in June. 

Or if a heap of manure be spread thick on a piece of ground 

late in the autumn, it will keep the earth from freezing, and 

if this manure be removed in February, and a frame placed 

over and protected from extreme cold, the seedlings may be 

raised therein, and transplanted as directed in page 25. 



FORCING BEANS, BROCCOLI, AND CAULIFLOWER. 99 

FORCING KIDNEY BEANS. 

The most dwarfish kinds of Kidney Beans may be raised 
in hot-beds ; but they require a substantial heat to mature 
them. The temperature within the frames should be kept 
up to 60, and may rise to 70 or 75°, provided the steam is 
let off. In order to insure sufficient heat to bring them into a 
bearing state, the plants may be first raised in small pots 
plunged into a hot-bed, or a small bed may be prepared, 
earthed over with light rich compost, six inches deep ; and 
the Beans planted therein, and covered one inch. The 
second hot-bed should be earthed over to the depth of eigh 
or nine inches : and the Beans transplanted as soon as they 
are two or three inches high, in cross rows twelve or fifteen 
inches apart, by three or four inches in the rows, or in 
clumps a foot apart. When the season is so far advanced 
that one bed, with the help of linings, will bring the plants 
well into fruit, the seed may be planted at once to remain 
for podding ; or if the gardener should choose to mature his 
crop in the open ground, he may rais,e his plants in boxes 
or pots in the month of April, and plant them out in a warm 
border early in May. Beans raised in hot-beds, will require 
considerable attention ; — cover the glasses every night with 
mats and boards ; admit fresh air every mild day, give 
occasional gentle waterings, and earth them up carefully as 
they progress in growth, to strengthen them. 



FORWARDING BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER. 

In treating of the method of cultivating this family of 
plants, in the articles, pages 33 and 35, I recommended an 
artificial climate to be provided for them, so as to induce 
them to arrive at full perfection in the winter and early 
part of the spring. Such gardeners as may have provided 
frames for the purpose of making hot-beds in the spring, 
may make use of them through the winter, in protecting 
Broccoli and Cauliflower; and as the frames will not be 
wanted until the severity of the winter is past, such plants 



100 TORCING CUCUMBERS. 

as may be left at that season, may be protected by a covering 
of boards, straw, or litter, as occasion may require. 

If Cauliflower be required early in the summer, the plants 
raised in the preceding autumn should be transplanted from 
the beds into the open ground in the month of March, and 
be protected by hand glasses. This would insure their 
heading before the approach of extreme warm weather, 
which is very injurious to Cauliflower. 



FORCING AND FORWARDING CUCUMBERS. 

To produce Cucumbers at an early season, should be an 
object of emulation with every gardener. The business of 
forcing them should commence about eight or ten weeks 
before the fruit is desired, and a succession of plants should 
be raised to provide for accidents. Some choose the Short 
prickly, others, the Green Cluster and Southgate; and seed 
that is two or three years old, is generally preferred, as it is 
not so apt to run to vines. The seed is generally sown in 
pots or boxes of light rich mould, and placed in a hot bed ; 
and some sow the seeds in the earth of a small bed prepared 
for the purpose. In either case, as soon as the plants have 
fully expanded their two seed leaves, they may be trans- 
planted into pots ; put three plants in each pot ; when this is 
done, apply water warmed to the heat of the bed, and shut 
down the glasses, keeping them a little shaded by throwing 
a mat over the glass, till the plants have taken root. When 
they a're about a month old, they will be fit to transplant into 
the fruiting bed. 

Well preparing the dung, is of the greatest importance 
in forcing the Cucumber, and if net done before it is made 
into a bed, it cannot be done after, as it requires turning 
and managing to cause it to ferment freely and sweetly. 
Fresh dung from the stable should be laid into a heap, 
turned three times, and well mixed with a fork ; if any ap. 
pears dry, it should be made wet, always keeping it between 
the two extremes of wet and dry, that the whole may have 
a regular fermentation. A dry situation should be chosen 



FORCING CUCUMBERS. JQ1 

for the beds to be formed on, so that no water can settle under 
the dung. The substance of dung from the bottom of the 
bed should be from three to four feet, according to the season 
of planting, and the moulding should be done as soon as the 
bed is settled, and has a lively regular tempered heat. Lay 
the earth evenly over the dung, about six inches deep ; after 
it has lain a few days examine it, and if no traces of a 
burning effect are discovered, by the mould turning of a 
whitish colour, and caking, it will be fit to receive the 
plants ; but if the earth appears burnt, or of a rank smell, 
some fresh sweet mould should be provided for the hills, and 
placed in the frame to get warm, at the same time, vacan- 
cies should be made to give vent to the steam, by running 
down stakes. After the situation of the bed has been as- 
certained, and the heat regulated, the hole should be closed, 
and the earth formed into hills ; raise one hill in the centre 
under each sash, so that the earth is brought to within nine 
inches of the glass ; in these hills, plant three seedlings, or 
turn out such as may be in pots, with the balls of earth 
about their roots, and thus insert one patch of three plants 
in the middle of each hill. The plants should be imme- 
diately watered with water heated to the air of the bed, and 
kept shaded till they have taken root. 

The temperature should be kept up to 60°, and may rise 
to 80° without injury, provided the rank steam be allowed to 
pass off; therefore, as the heat begins to decline, timely 
linings of well prepared dung must be applied all round 
the frame ; begin by lining the back part first ; cut away the 
old dung perpendicularly by the frame, and form a bank 
two feet broad, to the height of a foot, against the back of 
the frames : as it sinks, add more ; renew the linings around 
the remainder of the bed as it becomes necessary, and be 
careful to let off the steam, and give air to the plants at all 
opportunities. Give necessary waterings, mostly in the 
morning of a mild day, in early forcing ; and in the after- 
noon in the advanced season of hot sunny weather. Some 
use water impregnated with sheep or pigeons' dung. As 
the roots begin to spread, and the vines to run, the hills 
should be enlarged by gathering up the earth around them, 

9* 



102 FORCING CUCUMBERS. 

a supply of good mould should be furnished to gather up as 
required, for earthing around the plants. 

When the plants have made one or two joints, stop them, 
after which they generally put forth two shoots, each of 
which let run till they have made one or two clear joints, 
and then stop them ; and afterwards continue throughout 
the season to stop them at every joint ; this will strengthen 
the plants, and promote their perfecting the fruit early. 

The following artificial operation is recommended by 
Abercrombie, Phial, and other writers, as essential to the 
production of a full crop of Cucumbers under glass. In 
plants more freely exposed to the open air, the impregnation 
is effected by nature. Those which some call false blossoms 
are the male flowers, and are indispensable in this operation. 

" The Cucumber," Abercrombie observes, " bears male 
and female blossoms distinctly on the same plant. The 
latter only produce the fruit, which appears first in minia- 
ture, close under the base, even before the flower expands. 
There is never any in the males ; but these are placed in 
the vicinity of the females, and are absolutely necessary, by 
the dispersion of their farina, to impregnate the female 
blossom ; the fruit of which will not otherwise swell to its 
full size, and the seeds will be abortive. The early plants 
under grass, not having the full current of natural air, nor 
the assistance of bees and other winged insects to convey 
the farina, the artificial aid of the cultivator is necessary to 
effect the impregnation. At the time of fructification, watch 
the plants daily ; and as soon as the female flowers and 
some male blossoms are fully expanded, proceed to set the 
fruit the same day, or next morning at farthest. Take off 
a male blossom, detaching it with part of the footstalk. 
Hold this between the finger and thumb; pull away the 
flower leaves, or petals, close to the stamens and anthers, 
or central part, which apply close to the pistil in the bosom 
of the female flower, twirling it a little about, to discharge 
thereon some particles of the fertilizing powder. Proceed 
thus to set every fruit, as the flowers of both sorts open, 
while of a lively full expansion ; and generally perform it in 
the early part of the day, using a fresh male, if possible, for 



FORWARDING CUCUMBERS AND LETTUCE. 103 

every impregnation, as the males are usually more abundant 
than the female blossoms. By this management, the young 
fruit will be soon observed to swell freely." 

Cucumbers attain the proper size for gathering in from 
fifteen to twenty days after the time of setting ; and often 
in succession for two or three months or more, in the same 
beds, by good culture. 



FORWARDING CUCUMBERS UNDER HAND GLASSES. 

If it be desired to have Cucumbers in the open garden at 
an early season, the plants may be raised in pots as before 
directed, and planted in a warm border either in the earth, 
or in hot-bed ridges. A hand glass should be provided for 
each hill, which must be kept close down every night, and 
in cool days, taking care to admit air when practicable. 
The plants may be hardened by degrees, by taking off the 
glass in the heat of the day, and as the weather gets warm 
they may be left to nature. 



FORWARDING LETTUCE FOR USE IN WINTER. 

Head Lettuce may be cultivated for use in the winter 
season, by means of gentle hot-beds, or in cold-beds made 
in the manner recommended for the raising of early Cabbage 
plants, &c. (see article Cabbage.) For such Head Lettuce 
as may be wanted for use before Christmas, the Hardy 
Green, Dutch, and Egyptian Coss, are the most suitable 
kinds to sow ; and plants may be raised in the open border 
by sowing seed two or three times between the middle of 
August and the first week in September. The plants from 
these sowings may be set out, about six inches apart, in 
cold-beds, when they are about one or two inches high. In 
September and early in October some of the Silesia, Sugar 
loaf, Butter Lettuce, or any other esteemed sorts, may be 
sown in a cold-bed frame, which, with the aid of sashes, 



104 FORCING MUSHROOMS. 

will produce plants in from a month to six weeks ; these 
being planted in gentle hot-beds, in November and Decem- 
ber, will produce Head Lettuce until a plentiful supply can 
be obtained from the open borders. The same attention is 
necessary, as respects the protection of these beds, as for 
other half hardy plants. 



FORCING MUSHROOMS AT ALL SEASONS. 

The Agaricus is said to be the most extensive genus in 
the vegetable kingdom. The species are determined upon 
various principles. As some of the kinds are poisonous, it 
is necessary to describe the eatable Mushroom. Loudon 
says, it is most readily distinguished when of a middle size, 
by its fine pink or flesh-coloured gills, and pleasant smell. 
In a more advanced stage, the gills become of a chocolate 
colour, and it is then more apt to be confounded with other 
kinds of a dubious quality ; but that species which most 
nearly resembles it, is slimy to the touch, destitute of fine 
odour, and have a disagreeable smell. Again : the noxious 
kinds grow in woods, or on the skirts of woods, while the 
true Mushroom springs up chiefly in open pastures, and 
should be gathered only in such places. Unwholesome 
fungi will sometimes spring up on artificial beds in gardens ; 
thus, when the spawn begins to run, a spurious breed is 
often found to precede a crop of genuine Mushrooms. The 
baneful quality of the toad-stool, Agaricus oirosus, is in 
general, indicated by a sickly nauseous smell, though some 
hurtful sorts are so far without any thing disagreeable in the 
smell, as to make any criterion, drawn from that alone, very 
unsafe. The wholesome kinds, however, invariably emit a 
grateful rich scent. The Agaricus campestris is most gene- 
rally cultivated. Dr. Withering mentions other eatable 
varieties, which run considerably larger, but which are in- 
ferior in flavour ; he says, " that a plant of the variety 
Georgia, was gathered in an old hot-bed at Birmingham, 
which weighed fourteen pounds, and Mr. Stackhouse found 
one fifty-four inches in circumference, having a stem as 



FORCING MUSHROOMS. 105 

thick as a man's wrist." Mushrooms may be obtained at 
any season of the year, by a propei regulation of the time 
and manner of forming the beds. A good crop is sometimes 
collected without making a bed on purpose, by introducing 
lumps of spawn into the top mould of old hot-beds. 

The methods of procuring and propagating spawn, and 
of forming Mushroom beds, are numerous. Indigenous 
spawn may be collected in pasture lands in September and 
October, or it may be found in its strength and purity in 
the paths of mills worked by horses, or in any other horse- 
walks under shelter ; it is frequently found in old hot- 
beds and dunghills, in the summer season, and Mushrooms 
of good quality may often be seen beginning to form them- 
selves on the surface, like large peas ; when these are 
observed, it is time to take out the spawn, which is generally 
in hard dry lumps of dung, the spawn having the appear- 
ance of whitish coarse pieces of thread. The true sort has 
exactly the smell of a Mushroom. If spawn thus collected, 
be required for immediate use, it may be planted in the 
beds at once, or it will keep three or four years, if laid to dry 
with the earth adhering to it, and afterwards placed in a 
warm dry shed, where there is a current of air ; but if it be 
not completely dried, the spawn will exhaust itself or perish, 
as it will not bear the extremes of heat, cold, or moisture. 

Such of my readers as may have hitherto been un- 
acquainted with the cultivation of the Mushroom, must 
perceive, from the preceding remarks, that a Mushroom bed 
is simply a heap of animal dung and earth, so tempered as 
to be capable of producing and preserving spawn ; but in 
order to have fruitful spawn at all times, it should be so 
formed as to be always at command. To this end, a quan- 
tity of fresh horse droppings mixed with short litter, should 
be collected; add to this one-third of cow dung, and a small 
portion of good earth, to cement it together ; mash the whole 
into a thin compost, like grafting clay ; then form it in the 
ghape of bricks, which being done, set them on edge, and 
frequently turn theny until half dry ; then with a dibble 
make one or two holes in each brick, and insert in each hole 
a piece of spawn the size of an egg : the bricks should then 



106 * FORCING MUSHROOMS. 

be laid where they can dry gradually. When dry, lay dry 
horse dung on a level floor, six or eight inches thick; on 
this, pile the bricks the spawn side uppermost. When the 
pile is snugly formed, cover it with a small portion of warm 
fresh horse-dung, sufficient in quantity to diffuse a gentle 
glow through the whole. When the spawn has spread itself 
through every part of the bricks, the process is ended, and 
they may be laid up into any dry place for use. Mushroom 
spawn, made according to this receipt, will preserve its vege- 
table powers for many years, if well dried before it is laid 
up : if moist, it will grow, and soon exhaust itself. 

Mushroom beds are often formed in ridges in the open air, 
covered with litter and mats, so as to prevent heavy rains 
exciting a fermentation ; and sometimes in ridges of the 
same sort under cover, as in the open sheds of hot-houses. 
They are also made in close sheds behind hot-houses, or 
in houses built on purpose, called Mushroom-houses. A 
moderately warm light cellar is peculiarly suited for the 
purpose in the winter season, as no fire is necessary, and 
but little water, the application of which frequently proves 
injurious, when not judiciously managed. Mushrooms may 
be also raised in pots, boxes, hampers, (fee, placed in warm 
situations, in old hot-beds, in pits with glazed frames, and in 
dark frames or pits. 

The general way of making Mushroom beds, is to prepare 
a body of stable dung, moderately fermented, to the thick- 
ness of about a yard, more or less, according to the size and 
situation in which the bed is to be formed ; when the strong 
heat has subsided, an inch of good mould may be laid over, 
and the spawn planted therein in rows five or six inches 
apart ; after this is done, another layer of mould, an inch 
thick maybe applied, and then a coat of straw. Beds well 
constructed, will produce Mushrooms in five or six weeks, 
and will continue to produce for several months, if care be 
taken in gathering, not to destroy the young ones. As 
Mushrooms are gathered, from time to time, the straw 
should be spread carefully over the bed. 

Beds made in a convenient place where there is space all 
around, may be formed so as to make four sloping surfaces, 



FORCING MUSHROOMS. 107 

similar to the roof of a house ; this by being spawned on the 
four sides will yield abundantly. The celebrated Mr. Nicol 
makes his beds without spawn. The following are his 
directions, taken from Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Garden- 
ing : 

" After having laid a floor of ashes, stones, chips, gravel, 
or brick-bats, so as to keep the bed quite dry, and free from 
under damp, lay a course of horse-droppings six inches 
thick. These should be new from the stables, and must not 
be broken, and the drier the better. They may be collected 
every day until the whole floor or sole be covered to the above 
thickness ; but they must not be allowed to ferment or heat. 
, In the whole process of making up, the bed should be as 
much exposed to the air as possible ; and it should be care- 
fully defended from wet, if out of doors. When this course 
is quite dry, and judged to be past a state of fermentation, 
cover it the thickness of two inches with light dry earth ; if 
sandy, so much the better. It is immaterial whether it be 
ridi or not, the only use of earth here being for spawn to run 
and mass in. Now lay another course of droppings, and 
earth them over as above, when past a state of fermentation : 
then a third course, which in like manner earth all over. 
This finishes the bed, which will be a very strong and pro- 
ductive one, if properly managed afterwards. Observe, that 
in forming the bed, it should be a little rounded, in order 
that the centre may not be more wet or moist than the sides. 
This may be done in forming the sole or floor at first, and 
the bed would then be of equal strength in all parts. If it 
be made up against a wall in a cellar, stable, or shed, it may 
have a slope of a few inches from the back to the front, less 
or more, according to its breadth. I have sometimes been 
contented with two courses as above, instead of three ; and 
often when materials were scarce, have made them up 
slighter, thus : three four-inch courses of droppings, with 
one inch of earth between each, and a two-inch covering 
at top. Such a bed as this, I have had produce for ten or 
twelve months together ; but very much depends on the 
state of the materials, and on the care taken in making it up, 
also on the after management The droppings of hard-fed 



106 FORCING MUSHROOMS. 

horses only are useful. Those of horses kept on green food 
will, of themselves, produce few or no mushrooms. I have 
made up beds from farm horses, fed partly on hard, and 
partly on green food, and from carriage or saddle horses, fed 
entirely on corn and hay ; treated them in the same way in 
every respect ; and have found, not once but always, those 
made from the latter most productive. Droppings from 
hard-fed horses may be procured at the public stables in 
towns, or at inns in the country, any time of the year; and 
if the supply be plentiful, a bed of considerable dimensions 
may be made and finished within five or six weeks. In as 
many more weeks, if in a stable or dry cellar, or a flued shed, 
it will begin to produce, and often sooner ; but if the situa- 
tion of the bed be cold, it will sometimes be two or three 
months in producing Mushrooms." 

It may be necessary to state further, that extremes of heat, 
cold, drought and moisture, should be avoided in the culti- 
vation of Mushrooms. If the temperature keeps up to 50° 
in the winter, beds will be safe, and the heat in the beds 
may rise to GO or even 70° without injury. Air also must 
be admitted in proportion to the heat, and 60° should be 
aimed at as a medium temperature. Water, when given a 
little at a time, is better than too much at once, after the 
spawn has begun to spread ; and the water for this purpose 
should always be made blood warm. A light covering of 
straw may be always used to preserve moisture on the sur- 
face ; and if the beds are made in open frames, or otherwise 
subject to exposure, the straw may be laid thicker than on 
beds made in a cellar. Should beds fail in producing Mush- 
rooms, after having been kept over hot or wet, it may be 
inferred that the spawn is injured or destroyed ; but if on the 
contrary a bed that has been kept moderately warm and dry, 
should happen to be unproductive, such bed may be well 
replenished with warm water, and a coat of warm dung may 
be laid over the whole ; if this does not enliven the bed after 
having lain a month, take off the earth, and if on examination 
there is no appearance of spawn, the whole may be de- 
stroyed, but if on the contrary the bed should contain spawn, 
it may be renovated by covering it again, especially if any 



FORWARDING MELONS. 109 

small tubercles be discernible ; but if the heat should have 
declined, the spawn may be taken out and used in a fresh bed. 
If beds be formed in hot-bed frames under glass, some mats 
or straw must be laid over the glass to break off the intense 
heat of the sun. 

Although only one species of edible fungi has yet been 
introduced into the garden, there are several eatable kinds. 
In Poland and Russia there are above thirty sorts in common 
use among the peasantry. They are gathered at different 
stages of their growth, and used in various ways ; raw, 
boiled, stewed, roasted, and being hung up, and dried in their 
stoves and chimnies, form a part of their winter stock of 
provisions. Great caution is necessary in collecting Mush- 
rooms for food, and none but the Botanist should search for 
any but the sorts we have described.* Physicians say, " that 
all the edible species should be thoroughly masticated before 
they are taken into the stomach, as this greatly lessens the 
effects of poisons. When accidents of the sort happen, 
vomiting should be immediately excited, and then the vege- 
table acids should be given, either vinegar, lemon juice, or 
that of apples ; after which, give ether and anti-spasmodic 
remedies, to stop the excessive vomiting. Infusions of 
gallnut, oak bark, and Peruvian bark, are recommended as 
capable of neutralizing the poisonous principle of Mush- 
rooms." It is, however, the safest way not to eat any but 
the well known kinds. 



FORWARDING MELONS UNDER HAND GLASSES. 

Although our citizens have an opportunity of procuring 
Melons without artificial aid, as their continuance is short, 
it may not be amiss to remind the gardener that the directions 
already given for maturing Cucumbers under glass will apply 
to Melons, with very few exceptions ; care, however, must 
be taken that they be kept away from each other at the time 



* In order to ascertain whether what appear to be Mushrooms are of 
the true eatable kinds, sprinkle a little salt over the inner or spongy part; 
if, in a short time after, they turn yellow, they are unwholesome ; but if 
black, they may be considered as genuine Mushrooms. : 

10 



HO FORCING PEAS, 

of fruiting, as instances often occur of whole crops being 
entirely ruined, by plants of the same genus being raised too 
near each other. Those who may wish to forward Melons, 
may prepare a hot-bed in March or April, to raise plants in ; 
the bed may be formed and the plants may be managed in 
precisely the same manner as is directed for Cucumbers. If 
the ridging system be adopted, and a hand-glass applied to 
each hill, Melons may be obtained one month earlier than 
the usual time. Gardeners raising Melons for the supply of 
city markets, may gratify the public by pursuing the for- 
warding, if not the forcing system. Ridges may be prepared 
in the following manner : — In April or May, a trench may 
be dug in a warm border about two feet deep and three wide, 
and of sufficient length for as many hand-glasses as are 
intended to be employed, allowing three feet for every hill. 
Some good heating manure should be laid in the pits, 
managed the same as a common hot-bed ; to this must be 
added good rich mould to the depth of eight or ten inches 
for the plants to grow in ; as soon as the mould is warm, the 
seedlings may be planted, three plants in each hill, after 
which the hand-glasses should be set on, and shaded. After 
the plants have taken root and begun to grow, the glasses 
should be raised in fine days, and propped up so as to admit 
fresh air, and as the warm weather progresses, they may be 
taken off in the middle of fine days, so as to harden the 
plants gradually to the weather ; and by the latter end of 
May they may be left to nature. 



FORCING PEAS IN HOT-BEDS 



The best sorts of Peas to force, arc the most dwarfish kinds, 
and the seed is better for being two or three years old, as 
they will bear earlier, and make less straw. The true early 
frame Peas are generally preferred, but Bishop's new early 
Peas are very dwarfish and prolific. Peas run less to vine 
by being transplanted, than when they are sown where they 
are to remain ; the plants may be raised in a gentle hot-bed, 
either in the earth of the bed, or in pots or boxes. They do 



FORGING POTATOES. \\l 

not require excessive heat ; the temperature must be pro- 
gressive ; beginning at about 50° for the nursery bed, and 
from that to 60° or 65° for fruiting. When the leaves of the 
plants are fairly expanded, they may be transplanted in rows 
from twelve to eighteen inches apart ; observe, the earth in 
the fruiting bed should be from twelve to eighteen inches in 
depth. As the Peas progress in growth, the earth should be 
stirred; and when six inches high, small sticks may be ap- 
plied, so that the tendrils of the Peas may easily take hold ; 
and they should be moulded at the bottom to enable them 
to support themselves. When they appear in blossom, nip 
the top off; this greatly promotes the forming and filling of 
the pods ; they will require to be regularly watered, and as 
the spring advances they may be exposed to the weather, 
taking care to shelter them in the event of a sudden change^ 



FORCING POTATOES IN HOT-BEDS. 

Potatoes may be forced in a great variety of ways. 
Those who attempt to mature Potatoes in frames, will of 
course provide such of the earliest kinds as are not inclined 
to produce large tops, the Broughton dwarf, Early mule, and 
the Oak, and the ash-leaved, are of this description. Pota- 
toes may be forwarded in growth previous to their being 
planted in the beds, by placing them in a warm damp cellar. 
Some forward them in pots and boxes, and afterwards 
mature them in a hot-bed; others plant them iii the bed at 
once, in which case the beds should be moulded from fifteen 
to twenty inches deep, and the heating materials should be 
sufficient to keep up a moderate heat for two or three 
months. Perhaps the most convenient way to force Pota- 
toes in this climate, is to provide pots for the purpose ; plant 
one set in each pot in January, set them in a warm cellar 
till a bed can be prepared in February, in this put in the 
pots. While the tuberous roots are forming, and before they 
fill the pots, prepare the beds for maturing them, and then 
bury them in the mould with the balls of earth attached to 
them. 



112 FORWARDING RADISHES AND RHUBARB, 

The beds should be kept free from frost, and air should be 
given at every opportunity. The common round Potatoes 
may be forwarded, by laying them thick together in a slight 
hot-bed in March, and when they are planted in the borders, 
a quantity of comb-maker's shavings may be deposited in 
each hill ; this will greatly promote their growth. 



FORWARDING RADISHES, &C. 

Radishes may be obtained early in the spring by means 
of a moderate hot-bed. The earth in the frame should be a 
foot in depth, and air should be admitted every day after 
they are up, or they will incline more to tops than roots. If 
they come up too thick, they should be thinned to one or 
two inches apart. Give gentle waterings as occasion 
requires, and keep them well covered in cold nights. For 
raising early Radishes, without frames, hot-beds may 
may be made in ridges, and arched over with hoop bends, 
or pliant rods, which should be covered with mats con- 
stantly at night, and during the day in very cold weather. 
In moderate days, turn up the mats at the warmest side ; 
and on a fine mild day, take them wholly off, and harden 
them gradually to the weather. Turnips, Carrots, Onions, or 
any kind of salads, or pot herbs, may be raised in the same 
way by sowing the seed in drills, and keeping the ground 
clear of weeds. 



FORWARDING RHUBARB. 

Those who may desire to have this excellent substitute 
for fruit at an early season, may procure it without much 
trouble. It is customary with some persons in the Southern 
parts of England to keep this plant growing in their kitch- 
hens, so that they may have it for use at any time. They 
have strong neat boxes, made for the purpose ; about three 
feet deep and two wide, and in length according to the 
demand, from four to eight feet ; these being kept clean, 



FORWARDING SALAD HEBBS, PLANTS, &C. 113 

have the appearance of flour-bins, and they are sometimes 
so contrived as to have shelves over them in imitation of a 
kitchen dresser. The plants being taken up out of the 
garden towards winter, are placed as close at the bottom of 
the box as they can be put, with their crowns level : and 
some sand being thrown over sufficient to fill up the 
interstices, and to cover the crowns about half an inch, 
finishes the operation. No further trouble is necessary, 
except to give a little water, just to keep the roots moist, as 
they need no light at all ; and if the roots be planted in the 
garden when spring opens, they will, after having taken root 
vegetate as strongly as before they were removed. 

Roots of Rhubarb taken up in the autumn, and packed 
in sand deposited in a warm cellar, will produce stalks earlier 
than if kept in the garden, and if placed in hot-beds they 
will yield abundantly, and that at a very early season. 

The consumption of this plant in the British metropolis 
may be judged of by the following extract from a London 
Gardener's Magazine. "Rhubarb, which has for some 
years past been cultivated, is still a subject of increasing 
interest, and more extensively in demand than ever. On 
the fifth of May, no less than eight wagon loads, each 
weighing at least a ton, with an equal quantity in smaller 
proportions, were sold in Covent-garden market alone. 
One cultivator, Mr. Myatt, of New Cross, Deptford, had 
three wagon loads ; he has, I believe, nearly twenty acres 
of it under culture. This plant contains an acid as fine as 
the Gooseberry, for pies and tarts; a square rod of ground 
will supply a family ; and it may be used till midsummer or 
later. For fuller explanations, see article Rhubarb." 



FORWARDING SALAD HERBS, SMALL PLANTS, &C. 

ti 

For the purpose of raising Mustard, Cress, and other 
salad herbs, also Egg-plants, Tomatoe-plants, &c. in small 
quantities, a hot-bed may be made, early in the spring, of 
good heating materials, on the top of which may be laid 
leaf mould, old tan, or light compost, to the depth of about 

10* 



114 FORWARDING TOMATOES. 

nine inches. The various kinds of seeds may be sown in 
boxes or flower pots, and plunged in the top mould up to 
their rims, and by being well attended to, a supply of small 
salads, as well as small seedling plants, may be raised with- 
out much labour or difficulty. This method is also well 
calculated for the raising of Annual flower plants at an 
early season. 

FORWARDING TOMATOES. 

As this vegetable has of late been highly extolled in 
respectable periodicals, it may be necessary here to observe, 
that plants raised from seeds sown in hot-beds the latter end 
of February, or early in March, as directed in former pages, 
will grow to the length of four inches and upwards, by 
the first of April, which is one month earlier than they can 
with safety be trusted in the open garden. If a few of these 
be pulled, and transplanted into flower pots, they may be 
kept growing therein until settled warm weather, and then 
turned out and deposited in the ground with the balls of 
earth entire ; or a fruiting bed may be prepared by the first 
of April, in the manner recommended for Bush Beans, 
Cucumbers, &c, and the plants inserted in the earth at 
once ; these will produce ripe fruit a month or six weeks 
earlier than those cultivated in the ordinary way. 

A celebrated writer observes, that " the common To- 
matoe made into a gravy, by stewing over the fire, and 
used as a sauce for meat, has been known to quicken the 
action of the liver and of the bowels, better than any medi- 
cine he ever made use of.'* He states further, that— <v When 
afflicted with inaction of the bowels, head-ache, a bad taste 
of the mouth, straitness of the chest, and a dull and painful 
heaviness of the region of the liver, the whole of these 
symptoms are removed by Tomatoe sauce, and the mind, 
in the course of some few hours, is put in perfect tune." 

To make them into catsup, use one pint of fine salt to one 
peck of Tomatoes ; bruise them, and let thern stand two 
days; then strain them dry, and boil the juice until the 
scum stops rising, with two ounces of black pepper, the 



FORCING VEGETABLES. 115 

same quantity of pimento or allspice, one ounce of ginger, 
one of clove, and half an ounce of mace. 



The following simple method of forcing vegetables on a 
small scale, is recommended by a correspondent of a Lon- 
don Magazine : — 

u Mushrooms in winter I obtain by a very simple though 
not a new process. Provide boxes three feet long, and one 
foot eight inches deep ; a quantity of horse droppings, per- 
fectly dry ; some spawn and some light dry soil. Fill the 
boxes by layers of droppings, spawn, and soil, which must 
be trodden perfectly tight ; repeat these triple layers till the 
boxes are full, and all trodden firmly together. 

" Four such boxes at work, are sufficient for a moderate 
demand ; and of a dozen, four brought on at a time, and 
placed upon the flue of a greenhouse stove, will produce a 
fine supply. The surface of these portable beds may be 
covered with a little hay, and occasionally, though sparingly, 
watered. It is not absolutely necessary that they be set on 
the flue of a greenhouse ; a warm stable, cellar, or any 
other similar place, will suit equally well. This plan is 
also convenient for affording a plentiful stock of superior 
spawn. 

" The same sized boxes will also do for Asparagus ; but 
for this purpose a sufficient stock of three-year old plants 
must be at hand ; also eighteen boxes, four of which are 
the necessary set to be forced at one time for a middling 
family. Half fill the boxes with decayed tanner's bark, leaf 
mould, or any similar mould ; on this, pack the roots as 
thickly as possible, and fill up the boxes with the bark, &c. 
Any place in a forcing house will suit them ; on the flue, 
under the stage, or in short, any place where they can 
enjoy the necessary degree of heat. Besides Asparagus 
and Mushrooms, Sea Kale, Buda Kale, Angelica, small 
salad, as also other pot herbs, may be raised in the same 
manner." 

Those who have not the conveniences recommended in 



116 METHOD OF CULTIVATING THE HOP. 

a greenhouse, &c. may place the boxes in a hot-bed. The 
glasses being laid on, and the beds covered at night, will 
soon promote the growth of the plants, and produce vege- 
table luxuries at a season when garden products in general 
are comparatively scarce. 

It is unnecessary to show of how much value such 
processes may be in minor establishments, or in a young 
country. I wish it to be understood, that in order to the 
successful cultivation of some of the rare vegetables I have 
treated of, great pains must be taken in every stage of their 
growth. If the advice I have given be attended to, I flatter 
myself we shall soon obtain a supply of many of these 
luxuries of the garden. My directions are founded on the 
success attending the practice of some of the best gardeners 
in this country. I have also had sufficient experience to 
warrant me in this attempt to contribute my mite towards 
the attainment of this kind of useful knowledge. 



METHOD OF CULTIVATING THE HOP. 

Houblon. Humulus lupulus. 

Although the Hop is not a culinary vegetable, as it is 
more or less used in every part cf our country, it may not 
be amiss to treat of its culture. It is presumed, that in 
proportion as habits of temperance are inculcated, our 
citizens will have recourse to beer as a wholesome beve- 
rage ; and as a great deal depends on the manner in which 
Hops are cured, I purpose giving directions for their ma- 
nagement throughout, so as to enable those who choose, to 
prepare their own. My information is collected chiefly from 
Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Plants. 

" The Hop has been cultivated in Europe an unknown 
length of time for its flowers, which are used for preserving 
beer. Its culture was introduced from Flanders in the reign 
of Henry the Eighth ; though indigenous both in Scotland 
and Ireland, it is little cultivated in those countries, owing 
to the humidity of their autumnal season. Like other plants 
I 



METHOD OF CULTIVATING THE HOT. U7 

of this sort, the Hop bears its flowers on different indivi- 
duals ; the female plants, therefore, are alone cultivated. 
There are several varieties grown in Kent and Surrey, 
under the name of Flemish, Canterbury, Goldings, &c, ; 
the first is the most hardy, differing little from the Wild or 
Hedge Hop ; the Goldings is an improved and highly pro- 
ductive variety, but more subject to blight than the other.* 
The Hop prefers a deep loamy soil on a dry bottom ; a 
sheltered situation, but at the same time not so confined as 
to prevent a free circulation of air. The soil requires to be 
well pulverized and manured previous to planting. In Hop 
districts the ground is generally trenched either with a 
plough or spade. The mode of planting is generally in 
rows six feet apart, and the same distance in the row. By 
some, five, six, or seven plants, are placed in a circular 
form, which circles are distant five or six feet from each 
other. The plants or cuttings are procured from the most 
healthy of the old stools ; each should have two joints or 
buds ; from the one which is placed in the ground springs 
the root, and from the other the stalk. Some plant the 
cuttings at once where they are to remain, and by others 
they are nursed a year in a garden. An interval crop of 
Beans or Cabbages is generally taken the first year. Some- 
times no poles are placed at the plants till the second year, 
and then only short ones of six or seven feet. The third 
year the Hop generally comes into full bearing, and then 
from four to six poles from fourteen to sixteen feet in length 
are placed to each circle, or one pole to each plant, if cul- 
tivated in straight rows. The most durable timber for poles 
is that of the Spanish Chesnut. The after culture of the 
Hop consists in stirring the soil, and keeping it free from 
weeds : in guiding the shoots to the poles, and sometimes 
tying them for that purpose with bass or withered rushes; 
in eradicating any superfluous shoots which may rise from 



* Besides these are the Farnham, or golden grape, which is cultivated 
for an early crop ; and for late picking, the Mayfield grape, or ruffler, is 
esteemed, which is a dwarfish variety. Great caution is necessary, lest the 
varieties get mixed, as they will not ripen or dry equally, and consequently 
eannot be of one uniform colour and quality. 



118 METHOD OF CULTIVATING THE HOP. 

the root, and in raising a small heap of earth over the root 
to nourish the plant. Hops are known to be ready for 
gathering, when the chaffy capsules acquire a brown colour, 
and a firm consistence. Each chaffy capsule, or leaf calyx, 
contains one seed. Before these are picked, the stalks are 
detached, and the poles pulled up, and placed horizontally 
on frames of wood, two or three poles at a time. The Hops 
are then picked off by women and children. After being 
carefully separated from the leaves and stalks, they are 
dropped into a large cloth hung all round within the frame 
on tenter hooks. When the cloth is full, the Hops are 
emptied into a large sack, which is carried home, and the 
Hops laid on a kiln to be dried. This is always to be done 
as soon as possible after they are picked, or they apt to 
sustain considerable damage, both in colour and flavour, if 
allowed to remain long in the green state in which they are 
picked. In very warm weather, and when they are picked 
in a moist state, they will often heat in five or six h ours ; for 
this reason, the kilns are kept constanty at work, both night 
and day, from the commencement to the conclusion of the 
Hop-picking season. The operation of drying Hops is not 
materially different from that of drying malt, and the kilns 
are of the same construction. The Hops are^spread on a 
hair cloth, from eight to twelve inches deep, according as 
the season is dry or wet, and the Hops ripe or immature. 
When the ends of the Hop stalks become quite shrivelled 
and dry, they are taken off the kiln, and laid on a boarded 
floor till they become quite cool, when they are put into 
bags. 

The bagging of Hops is thus performed : in the floor of the 
room where Hops are laid to cool, there is a round Jiole or 
trap, equal in size to the mouth of a Hop-bag. After tying 
a handful of Hops in each of the lower corners of a large 
bag, which serve after for handles, the mouth of the bag is 
fixed securely to a strong hoop, which is made to rest on the 
edges of the hole or trap ; and the bag itself being then 
dropped through the hole, the packers go into it, when a 
person who attends for the purpose, puts in the Hops in 
small quantities, in order to give the packer an opportunity 



METHOD OF CULTIVATING THE HOP. 119 

of packing and trampling them as hard as possible. When 
the bag is filled, and the Hops trampled in so hard that it 
will hold no more, it is drawn up, unloosed from the hoop, 
and the end sewed up, two other handles having been 
previously formed in the corners in the manner mentioned 
above. The brightest and finest coloured Hops are put 
into pockets or fine bagging, and the brown into coarse or 
heavy bagging. The former are chiefly used for brewing 
fine ale, and the latter by the porter brewers. But when 
Hops are intended to be kept two or three years, they are 
put into bags of strong cloth, and firmly pressed so as 
to exclude the air. 

The stripping and stacking of the poles succeed to the 
operation of picking. The shoots or bind being stripped off, 
such poles as are not decayed, are set up together in a 
conical pile of three or four hundred, the centre of which is 
formed by three stout poles bound together a few feet from 
their tops, and their lower ends spread out. 

The produce of no crop is so liable to variation as that of 
the Hop ; in a good season an acre will produce 20 cwt. but 
from 10 to 12 cwt. is considered .a tolerable average crop. 
The quality of Hops is estimated by the abundance or 
scarcity of an unctuous clammy powder which adheres to 
them, and by their bright yellow colour. The expenses of 
forming a Hop plantation are considerable ; but once in 
bearing, it will continue so for ten or fifteen years before it 
requires to be renewed. The Hop is peculiarly liable to 
diseases ; when young it is devoured by fleas of different 
kinds; at a more advanced stage, it is attacked by' the green 
fly, red spider, and ottermoth, the larvse of which prey even 
upon the roots. The honey-dew often materially injures 
the Hop crop ; and the mould, the fire-blast, and other 
blights, injure it at different times towards the latter period 
of the growth of the plant." 

It appears from an article in the " Genesee Farmer," 
that the culture of Hops is becoming an important branch of 
husbandry in the State of New- York. A correspondent 
observes, that " as fine samples have been grown in Orange 
end Madison counties as in any part of the world. The 



120 METHOD OF CULTIVATING THE HOP. 

Hop is considered somewhat precarious; but when the 
season is good, the profit is very great. The average 
product may be stated at 700 lbs., though it has reached 
1600 lbs. to the acre ; and in the latter case the expense 
amounted to sixty dollars. The ordinary, or average price, 
may be stated at eighteen cents per pound. The profits on 
an ordinary crop, according to these assumed data, would 
be about seventy dollars from the acre. It often falls 
materially short of this, however, from the want of know- 
ledge and care in gathering and drying the crop. 

44 The quantity of Hops taken to Albany and the neigh- 
bouring towns on the Hudson, this year, (1834) has been 
estimated at 2,300 bales, or 500,000 lbs., which, had not 
many of them been prematurely gathered, or badly cured, 
would have yielded to the growers ninety or a hundred thou- 
sand dollars. But of the 2,200 bales, there was not more 
than 200 bales, we are informed, that ought to have received 
the denomination of first sorts. Many of them were picked 
too early, before the matter that imparts to them their value 
was sufficiently developed ; and others were scorched or 
smoked in curing. This carelessness has seriously affected 
the character of our Hops abroad, and they are no longer 
purchased by the Philadelphia brewers. They would soon 
form an important article of export, if their character was 
raised by care in their culture and drying, and a rigid 
inspection." 

The young shoots of both wild and cultivated Hops are 
considered by some as very wholesome, and are frequently 
gathered in the spring, boiled, and eaten as Asparagus. 
The stalk and leaves will dye wool yellow. From the stalk 
a strong cloth is made in Sweden, the mode of preparing 
which is described by Linnaeus in his Flora Suecica. A de- 
coction of the roots is said to be as good a sudorific as Sarsa- 
parilla ; and the smell of the flowers is soporific. A pillow 
filled with Hop flowers will induce sleep, unattended with the 
bad effects of soporifics,which require to be taken internally. 



OBSERVATIONS 



ON THE 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



^Previous to forming a flower garden, the ground should 
be made mellow and rich, by being well pulverized, ma- 
nured, and prepared in every respect as if intended for a 
kitchen garden. A flower garden should be protected from 
cold cutting winds by close fences, or plantations of shrubs, 
forming a close and compact hedge, which should be neatly 
trimmed every year. Generally speaking, a flower garden 
should not be upon a large scale; the beds or borders 
should in no part of them be broader than the cultivator 
can reach, without treading on them : the shape and num- 
ber of the beds must be determined by the size of the 
ground, and the taste of the person laying out the garden. 
Much of the beauty of a pleasure garden depends on the 
manner in which it is laid out ; a great variety of figures 
may be indulged in for the flower beds. Some choose oval 
or circular forms, others squares, triangles, hearts, diamonds, 
&c, intersected With winding gravel walks. 

Neatness should be the prevailing characteristic of a 
flower garden, which should be so situated as to form an 
ornamental appendage to the house ; and, where circum- 
stances will admit, placed before windows exposed to a 
southern or south-eastern aspect. The principle on which 
it is laid out, ought to be that of exhibiting a variety of 

11 



122 FLOWER GARDEN. 

colour and form, so blended as to produce one beautiful 
whole. In a small flower garden, viewed from the windows 
of a house, this effect is best produced by beds, or borders, 
formed on the side of each other, and parallel to the win- 
dows from whence they are seen, as by that position the 
colours show themselves to the best advantage. In a retired 
part of the garden, a rustic seat may be formed, over and 
around which honey-suckles, and other sweet and orna- 
mental creepers and climbers, may be trained on trellises, 
so as to afford a pleasant retirement. 

Although the greatest display is produced by a general 
flower garden, that is, by cultivating such a variety of sorts 
in one bed or border, as may nearly insure a constant 
blooming ; yet bulbous plants, while essential to the per- 
fection of the flower garden, lose something of their pe- 
culiar beauty when not cultivated by themselves. The 
extensive variety of bulbous roots furnishes means for the 
formation of a garden, the beauty of which, arising from an 
intermixture of every variety of form and colour, would 
well repay the trouble of cultivation, particularly as by a 
judicious selection and management, a succession of bloom 
may be kept up for some length of time. As, however, 
bulbous flowers lose their richest tints about the same time 
that annuals begin to display their beauty, there can be no 
well-founded objection to the latter being transplanted into 
the bulbous beds, so that the opening blossoms of the annu- 
als may fill the place of those just withered, and continue 
to supply ihe flower-beds with all the gaiety and splendour 
of the floral kingdom. 

But the taste of thp florist will be exercised to little pur- 
pose, in his selection o flowers, if he does not pay strict 
attention to the general state of his garden. If there are 
lawns or grass walks, they should be frequently trimmed, 
and more frequently mowed and rolled, to prevent the 
grass from interfering with the flower beds, and to give the 
whole a neat, regular, carpet-like appearance. If there are 
gravel walks, they should be frequently cleaned, replenished 
with fresh gravel, and rolled. Box, and other edgings, 
should be kept clear of weeds, and neatly trimmed every 



FLOWER GARDEN. 123 

spring. Decayed plants should be removed, and replaced 
with vigorous ones from the nursery bed. Tall-flowering 
plants must be supported by neat poles or rods; and all 
dead stalks and leaves from decayed flowers must be fre- 
quently removed. 

In the summer season, all kinds of insects must be timely 
destroyed, and in the evenings of warm days, the flowers 
will require frequent watering. 

" To raise your flowers, various arts combine ; 
Study these well, and fancy's flight decline. 
If you would have a vivid, vigorous breed, 
Of every kind, examine well the seed. 
Learn to what elements your plants belong, 
What is their constitution, weak or strong ; 
Be their physician, careful of their lives, 
And sop that every species daily thrives ; 
These love much air, these on much earth rely, 
These without constant warmth, decay and die. 
Supply the wants of each, and they will pay 
For all your care through each succeeding day.'' 



A CATALOGUE OF 

ANNUAL FLOWER SEEDS. 

Graines de fleures annuelles. 



Those varieties marked thus, § are tender. Those marked thus, * should 
be sown in the spot where they are intended to blossom, as they are apt to 
droop and die by being transplanted. A few are marked thus, T. These 
though cultivated as annuals, from their facilities in blossoming and ripen- 
ing their seed the first season, are in reality perennial, as are also some 
other varieties from warm climates, usually denominated annuals; but as 
such could not be cultivated at all by those who have no means of protecting 
their plants through our severe winters, they may with great propriety be 
treated as tender annuals, by sowing the seed every Spring. 



Alkekengi, or Kite Flower Atropaphysaloides. 

Aiyssum sweet Alyssium maritimum, 

§ Amaranthus, three-coloured Amaranthus tricolor. 



124 



ANNUAL FLOWER SFEDS. 



Amethyst, Blue 
Annual Athanasia 
Annual Martynia 

* Annual, or ten week stock-gilly 

* Annual Pink, in varieties 
§ Arabian Clandanthus 

§ Aubletia, Rose-coloured 



Amethystea coerulea 
Athanasia annuus. 
Martynia proboscidea. 
Cheiranthus annuus* 
Dianthus annuus.] 
Clandanthus Arabicus. 
Verbena aubletia. 

§ Balsamines, in numerous varieties Jmpatiens- balsamina, var. coccinea 

striata, purpurea, etc. 



Bladder Ketmia 
Blue Bottle, in varieties 
§ Browallia, in varieties 
§ Cacalia, Scarlet 

* Candytuft, in varieties 

* Candytuft, sweet-scented 
Catch Fly, in varieties 

§ Calendrina, in varieties 
t Celsia, in varieties 
§ Centaurea, great American 
China and German Asters in nume- 
rous and splendid varieties 
§ Chinese Mallow 



Hibiscus trionum. 
Centaurea cyanus, in varieties, 
Browallia var. elata, alba, etc, 
Cacalia coccinea. 
Iberis, alba, purpurea, etc. 
lberis odorata. 
Silene armeria, picta, etc. 
Calendrina , speciosa, etc. 
Celsia orientalis, etc. 
Centaurea Americana, 
Aster, Chinensis, var. alba, rubra, 

cerulea, striata purpurea, etc. 
Malva Chinensis, rubra. 



Chrysanthemum, white, yellow, and Chrysanthemum coronarium, var, 



three-coloured 
§ Clarkia, in varieties 
§ Clintonia, elegant 
§ Cockscomb, crimson and yellow 
§ Collinsia, in varieties 
♦Convolvulus, Dwarf 
Coreopsis, Golden 
§ Cotton plant 
Devil in the Bush, in several 

varieties 
t Dew Plant 
SJEschscholtzia, in several 

varieties 
Eternal Flower, yellow, purple 

and white 
Euphorbia, variegated 
* Evening Primrose, in numerous 

varieties 
Feather Grass 
Flos Adonis 
§ Gilia. in varieties 



alba, lutea, and tricolor. 
Clarkia elegans, pulchella, etc. 
Clintonia elegans. 
Celocia cristata, lutea, etc. 
Collinsia, grandijlora, etc. 
Convolvulus minor. 
Coreopsis tinctoria, 
Gossipyum herbaceum. 
Nigella damascena, var. Hispanica, 

etc. 
Mesembryanthum glabrum. 
Eschscholtzia, California, canescensf 

erocea, etc. 
Xeranlhemum lucidum, var. lutea, 

annuum, alba, etc. 
Euphorbia variegata.^ 
(Enothera, nocturna, rosea, alba, 

odorata, Lindleyana, etc. 
Stipa pinala, avenacea 
Adonis miniata. 



Gilia capilata. pulchella, etc. 
§ Globe A maranthus, purple, white, Gomphrena globosa , var. purpurea** 

and striped alba, striata, etc. t 

t Graceful branched Podalyria Podalyria gracilis. 



Ig6 ANNUAL FLOWER SEEDS. 

§ Salpiglossis, in numerous va- Salpiglossis straminea, picta* atro- 

r j et j eg purpurea, Barclayana, etc, 

§ Schizanthus, in varieties Schizanthus pinnatus, Hookerii. 

Scabious, dwarf annual Scabiosa, atropurpurea. 

§ Sensitive Plant Mimosa sensitiva. 

t Sky-blue Commelina Commelina coelestis. 

Sow-thistle leaved Francoa Francoa appendiculata. 

Starry Marigold Calendula stellata. 

Strawberry Spinach Blitum cupitatum. 

Sunflower, in varieties Helianthus annuus. 

Sweet Sultan, in varieties Centaurea moschata, etc. 
T Sweet-scented Marvel of Peru Mirabilis longifiora. 

§ Tobacco, in varieties Nicotiana tabacum. 

Touch me not Noli me tangere. 

Trefoil, crimson and scented Trifolium incarnatum, etc. 

* Venus's Looking-glass Campanula speculum. 
§ Yellow Madia Madia splendens . 

% Wing-leaved A mmobium jimmobium alatum. 

§ Wing-leaved Galceolaria Calceolaria pinnata. 

Zinnia, scarlet, yellow, red and Zinnia, var. coccinea, luteai rubra 
violet- coloured grandifiora, etc. 

The following are climbing plants, and will require to be 
planted in situations where they can be supported by sticks 
or twine, without interfering with other plants. 

Balloon Vine Cardiospermum halicacabum. 

* Balsam, Apple and Pear Momordica balsamina. 
f Calampelis, Eccremocarpus scabra 
§ Cypress Vine, in varieties JpomcEa coccinea. alba. 

* Gourd, the bottle, in numerous Cucurbita lagenaria, bicolor t auran- 
varieties tia, etc. 

Gourd, club-fruited Cucurbita clavata. 

Hyacinth Bean, in varieties Dolichos purpurea, alba. 

§ Maurandia, splendid in varie- Maurandia semperpZorens, Barclay' 

ties ana, etc. 

Morning Glory, of the Convolvu- Convolvulus major, purpurea, striata, 

lus tribe, in varieties incarnata, lutea. 

$ Morning Glory, of the Ipomea Ipomcea coccinea, striata; nil, hepa 

species, in varioties ticifolia, etc. 

Nasturtium Great Tropceolum majus. 

New deep red Tropceolum atro sanguineum. 

§ Winged Thunbergia Thunbergia alata. 

t Petunia; in varieties Petunia nyctaginijlora, etc. 

* Snake Melon Cucumis melo anguinus. 

11* 



ANNUAL FLOWER SEEDS. 



125 



Gypsorffiilla, in varieties 
Hawk weed, in varieties 

* Hedge-hogs 

t Hibiscus, in numerous 
varieties 

* Horned Poppy, in varieties 
% Ice Plant 

§ Ipomopsis, in varieties 

Jacobea, in varieties 

Job's Tears 

Larkspur, branching, in numerous 

varieties 
Larkspur, broad-leaved, in varieties 
Lavatera, red and white 
§ Linear-leaved Collomia 
Love lies bleeding 

* Lupins, of various sorts and 

colours 
§ Madeira Cynoglossum 
JMalope, in varieties 
Marigold, African, in varieties 
Do. French, in varieties 
Do. Sweet-scented 
t Marvel of Peru, or 4 o'clock, 

white, yellow, red, striped, &c. 
§ Mexican Ageratum, in varieties 
t Mexican Argemone, in numerous 

varieties 
t Mexican Dahlja 
t Mexican Sage 
§ Mexican Ximenisia 

* Mignonette, sweet-scented 
§ Nicembergia, in varieties 
Neapolitan Larkspur 
Nolana, in varieties 

* Oats, Animated 

t Pansey, or Heartsease, varieties 

Pentaptes, Scarlet 

§ Pimpernel, blue, scarlet, &c. 

* P°PPy 1 Carnation, in numerous 

varieties 

* Do. Chinese 

* Do. New French 

* Do. New Flemish 
Prince's Feather 
Uuaking grass, 
Rocket .Larkspur 



Gypsophilla, elegans, viscosa, etc. 

Crepis barbata. etc. 

Medicago intertexta. 

Hibiscus Africanus, var, trionum, 
vesicarius, etd. 

Glauceum luteum, etc, 

Mesembryanthemum chrystal. 

Ipcmopsis, var picta, elegans } etc. ' 

Senecio, elegans, purpurea-, etc* 

Coix lachryma Jobi. 

Delphinium consolida, var, alba, 
rosea, cerulea, etc. 

Delph inium peregrinum, etc. 

Lavatera trimestris, eta. 

Collomia linearis. 

Amaranthus melancholicus. 

Lupinus, mutabilis^ lutea, hirsutus, 
albus, varius,etc. 

Cynoglossum pictum. 

Malope trifida, grandifiora, etc. 

Tagcles erecta. 
patula. 
lucida. 

Mirabilis jalapa, var. alba^ lutea 
rubra striata, coccinea, etc. 

Ageratum JMexicanum. 

Argemone Mexicanum,var. grandi- 
jlora, Barclayana, etc, 

Dahl a superjlua. 

Salvia splendens. 

Ximenisia ensaloides, . \ 

Reseda odorata. 

Nicembergia Pheenicia. 

Delphinium Neapolita. 

Nolana paradoxia t prostrata, etc. 

Avena sensitiva. 
Viola tricolor, grandifiora^ etc. 

Pen taptes Pheenicia. 

Anagallis, Indica,arvensis, etc, 

Papaver scmniferum, var. coccinea, 
Jimbriata, striata, etc. 

Papaver Chinensis. 
var. 
var. 

Amaranthus hypockondriacus. 

Brixa i laxima. 

Delphinium ajacis 



ANNUAL FLOWER SEEDS. \cft 

Sweet Peas; of various descrip- Lathyrus od&ratus, var. alba,purpu. 
tions and colours rea, rosea, striata, etc. 

As many city gardens are so limited as not to admit of 
an extensive assortment of flowers, a select list may be 
made from the above catalogue to suit the taste of such as 
maybe so situated ; and amateurs, who cultivate on a larger 
scale, can obtain such additional sorts as may be desired at 
the different seed stores, under their various names. 

Previous to providing annual flower seeds, the cultivator 
should lay out a plan of his garden, and in making 
allotments of ground for any particular purpose, provision 
should be made for a select assortment of such bulbous, 
tuberous, and perennial plants, as may be deemed most 
worthy of attention, not forgetting to leave room for some 
of the choicest varieties of the Dahlia, the qualities of which 
will be described hereafter. 

Another consideration is, to have suitable implements 
ready, so that the work may be performed in a skilful 
manner, and at the proper season, A spade, rake, hoe, 
trowel, drilling machine, and pruning knife, may be deemed 
essentials ; and in order to have the beds laid out, with the 
edges straight and even, a garden line should be in rea* 
diness. If labels should be required, they may be made of 
shingles, which being split into strips of about an inch wide, 
and sharpened at one end, will serve for marking distinct 
kinds, either in pots, or on the borders. In order to have 
the names or numbers written in legible characters, the 
labels should be painted on the smooth side with white lead, 
and then marked with black lead pencil before the paint 
gets dry ; inscriptions made in this way, will be as durable 
as the label itself. 

The next, and perhaps the most important consideration, 
is, to have the ground in good condition to receive the seed. 
In order to obtain this desirable object, let some good rich 
compost, or very old manure, be provided and well mixed 
with the soil ; dig it a full spit deep, pulverizing every 
particle. It would be an advantage if the ground could be 



123 ANNUAL FLOWER SEEDS. 

dug to a great depth at the clearing up of winter, and then 
again at the period of sowing the seed, in the 

SPRING. 

" I come, I come — ye have called me long — 
I come o'er the mountains with light and song ! 
Ye may trace my steps o er the wakening earth, 
By the winds which tell of the Violet's birth, 
By the Primrose*-stars in the shadowy grass, 
By the green leaves opening as I pass." 

All kinds of annual flower seeds may be sown in the 
month of April and May, on borders or beds of clean light 
earth ; the beds should be levelled, and the seeds sown 
either in small patches, each kind by itself, or in drills from 
a quarter to half an inch deep, according to the size or 
nature of the seed. Lupins, Peas, &c, should be planted 
nearly an inch deep. Those who would have their plants 
to flower early, should sow the hardy kinds the last week in 
March, or early in April. Those varieties marked thus t, 
and thus § may be sown in boxes, or pots of light earth, at 
the same time. These, if exposed to the sun every day, and 
sheltered in cold nights, will be forwarded in growth, and be 
fit to transplant early in June. Those marked *, maybe 
also sown in small pots, and as these plants do not bear 
transplanting, they should be turned out of the pots with the 
balls of earth entire, and placed in the ground where they 
are intended to flower ; or, if the seed be sown in a bed with 
other kinds, they should be carefully transplanted with a 
trowel, without disturbing their roots. The most eligible 
way to obtain early flowers is to prepare a slight hot-bed for 
the tender kinds, and either to plunge the pots therein up to 
their brims, or to sow the seed in the earth in shallow drills, 
not more than a quarter of an inch deep. It may be 
necessary here to observe, that in favourable seasons, flower 
seed in general will come up in from one to three weeks 
after it is sown, except the seed of Cypress vine, which 
should be first partially scalded in water, and then sown. 
If some of the hardy annuals be sown in September, they 
will grow large enough to survive the winter, by a slight 



ANNUAL FLOWER SEEDS. 129 

covering of straw or litter ; and if plants thus raised be 
transplanted early in the Spring, they will produce very 
early flowers. The following are some of the hardiest; 



Alyssum, sweet 
Coreopsis, in varieties 
China aster, in varieties 
Catch fly 
Chrysanthemum, in varieties 



Evening Primrose 
Larkspur, in varieties 
Pansey, or Heart's ease 
Poppy, in varieties 
Rocket Larkspur, 



To prevent disappointment, I would recommend great 
care to be taken to keep the seed beds as clear from weeds 
as possible. It cannot be denied but young plants are apt 
to get smothered, and sometimes pulled up with weeds* 
To obviate this, I would suggest that the seeds be sown in 
shallow drills, each kind by itself] and that an account be 
kept of the contents of each drill in a book ; also of all seeds 
that are sown at different times, and by being particular in 
the dates, you may always know when to expect your planta 
to come up. Those persons who may be totally unac- 
quainted with plants, will, by this means, be enabled to 
identify each particular kind, and thus become familiarly 
acquainted with them. In order that this may be rendered 
plain to my readers, I adopt the following plan of entry of 
six kinds sown in pots, and six in the open ground I 



April 20, sowed flower seeds in pots. 

Pot marked A, or 1, Amaranihus tricolor. 

B, or 2, Balsamines. 

C, or 3, Coxcomb, 

D, or 4, Egg plant. 

E, or 5, Ice plant. 

F, or 6, Mignonette* 

These pots may be either marked with letters or figures 
on the outside, to answer with the book, or notches may be 
cut in wood, or other labels affixed to the pots, and entered 
accordingly. 



130 ANNUAL FLOWER SEEDS. 

April 20, sowed flower seeds in drills, as under : 

JSo. 1, Bladder Ketmia. 

2, Coreopsis Tincloria. 

3, Yellow eternal flower. 

4, G obe amaranthus. 

5, Princes' 1 feather. 

6, Larkspur, branching. 

If these numbers be continued to 100, or even 1000, there 
can be no mistake, provided the rows are all marked accord- 
ing to the entry in the book ; or if No. 1 be noted, plain 
sticks will answer afterwards, if one be struck at each end of 
every row. In this case it would be well to leave a space 
every ten or twenty rows, and to note the number of the 
rows ; by this means, they can be more easily traced. 

If the book be kept by any other than the gardener, each 
bag or paper of seed should be marked or numbered accord- 
ing to the entry in the book, and given to the gardener, with 
directions to sow them in the regular order. 

When seeds are intended to be sown in patches, which 
is often done for want of an unoccupied border, the best 
way to perform this business is, after having pulverized 
the soil, to impress circular drills in the surface with the 
rim of a flower pot, which may be large or small, according 
to fancy. By sowing seeds in such circular drills, the plants 
can be more easily traced than when scattered promiscuously 
over the ground, and the weeds can be destroyed with less 
risk and trouble. Such kinds as are marked in the cata- 
logue* may remain as sown, or if parted they should be 
removed with a scoop trowel in a careful manner, in small 
tufts, and this business as well as transplanting in general, 
should be always done immediately preceding, or after rain, 
and in cloudy weather. Herbaceous plants will not flourish 
or flower well, if grown in clusters; they should, therefore, 
be transplanted into the regular beds, at all favourable op- 
portunities, after they get to about an inch in length ; and 
as there is always a risk of some plants not taking root, it is 
safest to plant a few of each sort every time, taking care to 
diversify the colours, and also to leave a few plants in the 



BIENNIAL AND PERENNIAL FLOWER SREDS. 



131 



seed beds for the purpose of substituting in the room of such 
plants whose period of flowering may be over ; as is the case 
generally with early perennial plams and bulbs, at about 
the season that the last of the annuals are fit to remove. 

The transplanting may be done with a small trowel, or a 
neat dibble made for the purpose. 



BIENNIAL AND PERENNIAL FLOWER SEEDS. 

Graines de jleurs bisannuelles et vivaces. 



Those marked thus t are tender, and will need protection in the winter. 
Those marked thus II are biennials. 



Adonis, spring-flowering 
Alpine Columbine 
Alyssum, yellow 
Asclepias, in varieties 
Asiatic globe flower 
$ Auricula, in variety 
$ Balm of Gilead 
Bee Larkspur 

:jl Canary Aster, in varieties 
If. Calceolarias, in varieties 
|| Canterbury Bells, invar. 
J Caper Tree 
Cardinal Flower, scarlet 
Cassia Maryland 
^ Carnation, Pink 
Chinese, imperial, pink 
$ Chinese Primrose 
Clove, imperial, pink 
Colutea, Scarlet 
Coreopsis , elegant 
Coreopsis Lanceolatum 
X Coronilla, Yellow 
Coronet, flowered Lynchnis 
|| Clary, purple topped 
Crimsom Bergamot 
Columbine, Doublo 
Dragon's head 
European globe flower 



Adonis verhalis 
Aquiltgia alpina 
Alyssum saxatile 
Asclepias incarnata 
Trodius Asiaticus 
Primula auricula 
Dracocephalum canariense 
Delphinium datum 
Cineraria amelloides 
Calceolarias variabilis 
Campanula medium 
Euphorbia lalhyrus 
Lobelia cardinalis 
Cassia Marylandica 
Dianlhus caryophyllus 
Dianthus Chinensis 
Primula Chinensis 
Dianlhus hortensis 
Sutherlandia frutescens 
Coreopsis grandifiora 
Coreopsis lanceolatum 
Coronilla glauca 
Lychnis comnata 
Salvia sclara 
Monarda Kalmiana 
Aquilegia vulgaris 
Dracocephalum Virginianum 
Trollius Europeans 



132 



BIENNIAL AND PERENNIAL FLOWER SEEDB* 



$ Eupatorium, in varieties. 
)| Fox-glove, purple 

Do. white 
Fraxinella, red, 
Gentian, purple 
Gentian, porcelain flowered 
J Geranium, in varieties 
% Gilliflower, many sorts 
Globe Thistle 
Hollyhock, black Antwerp 

Do. China of sorts 
Do. English do. 
|| Honesty, or Satin Flower 
| Indian Shot, in varieties 
Ivy Leaved Toad Flax| 
Jacob's Ladder 
£ Jerusalem Cherry 
Liatris, Long spiked 
Lupin Perennial 
Lychnis, Dwarf Mountain 

Do. Scarlet, 
London Pride, or Maiden Pink 
Monks'-hood 
Monkey-flower blue, 
Monkey-flower, dark spotted 
£ Oleander, in varieties 
Phlox, or French lilac 
Pink, pheasant-eyed 
Perennial Campanula 
Perennial Larkspur 
J Periwinkle, Madagascar 
| Polyanthus, in varieties 
:£ Potentilla, in varieties 
Purple Perennial Flax 
% || Pyramidal Bell flower 
Queen of the Meadows 
Rose Campion, or Mullen pink 
|| Do. with rosy eye 

Rudbeckia, yell ow and purple 



Eupatorium cerulea, etc. 
Digitalis purpurea 

alba 
Dictamnus rubra 
Gentiana saponaria 
Gentiana adscendens 
Pelargonium sonale 
Ckeiranthus incanus 
Echinops sphcerocephalui 
Altheafl. nigra 
Althea Chinensis, var. 

Anglica, var. 
Lunar ia biennis 

Canna Indica, coccinea, lutea, etc. 
Linaria cymbalaria 
Polemonium ceruleum 
Solatium pseudo-capsicum 
Liatris spicata 
Lupinus perennia 
Lychnis Alpina 

Chalchedonicdi 
Dianthus deltoides 
Aconilum napellus 
Mimulus ringens 
Mimulus rivularis 
Nerium oleander 
Phlox, many species 
Dianthus plumarius 
Campanula persicafolio 
Delphinium giandijlorum 
Vtnca, rosea, alba, etc. 
Primula polyanthus 
Potentilla splendens, etc. 
Linum perenne 
Campanula pyramidalis 
Spiraea ulmaria 
Agrostemma coronaria 
Agrostemma, rosea, alba 
Rudbeckia lutea and purpurea 



|| Snap Dragon, in several eplen- Antirrhinum, coccinea, bicolor,v«rsi- 



did varieties 
Sophora, white and blue 
X Stock Gillyflower, in vaf. 
Sun Flower, perennial, 
|| Sweet Scabious, in var. 



color, sparlium t etc. 
Sophora alba, cerulea 
Matthiola coccinea, alba, etc. 
Helianthus perennis, altissimvs 
Scabiosa atropurpurea 



BIENNIAL AND PERENNIAL FLOWER SEEDS. 



133 



Sweet Rocket 
Sweet William, in var. 
]\ Sweot Chili Marigold 
Valerian, Garden, in var. 
Valerian, Greek 
Verbena, purple 
Veronica, variegated 
Veronica, tall blue 
| Wall Flower, bloody 
Wind flower, in variety 



JJesperis matronalis 
Dianthus barbatus 
Tagetes lueida 
Valeriana rubra, alba 
Poltmonium ceruleum 
Verbena purpurea 
Veronica variegata 
Veronica elata cerulea 
Cheiranlhus cheiri 
Anemone coronaria 



CLIMBING PLANTS. 

Climbing Cobea Cobea scandens 

Everlasting Peas, pink and white yLathyrus latifolius, rosea, alba 

% Passion Flower, in varieties rassifiora incarnata 



Purple Glycine 
Scarlet Trumpet Flower 
Sweet Virgin's Bower 
Traveller's Joy 
Virginian Virgin's Bower 
White French Honeysuckle 



Glycine apios 
Bignonia radicans 
Clematis jlammula 

vitalba 

Virginiana 

Hedysarum coronarium 



The reader is here reminded that our catalogue of 
annual flower seeds contains a few varieties of perennials, 
which were there introduced because of their aptness to 
blossom iu the first season from the sowing of seeds ; these, 
with those marked f in the last catalogue, may be sown 
and treated in the manner recommended for the tender 
annuals. Those intended to be cultivated as greenhouse 
r!ants should be taken up before the approach of cold 
weather, transplanted into flower pots, and sheltered either 
in a garden frame, greenhouse, or light room. Those 
plants with tuberous roots, such as Dahlias, Marvel of Peru, 
and also some others of the Bean and Pea tribe, may be 
cut down late in the autumn ; the roots may be then taken 
up and preserved in the same manner as those of other 
tuberous and bulbous-rooted plants, of which I shall treat 
hereafter. 

Hardy biennial and perennial flower seeds*may be sown 

12 



134 BIENNIAL AND PERENNIAL FLOWER SEEDS. 

in the month of April, in shallow drills. If this business be 
performed in the manner recommended for annuals, they 
can be easily distinguished from each other ; and as these 
plants do not flower the first year, they may be thinned out, 
or removed from the seed beds as soon as they are well 
rooted, and planted either into different parts of the flower 
beds, or in a nursery bed. If the latter plan be adopted, 
they should be planted in rows a foot or more apart, and 
kept free from weeds by means of a small hoe, which will 
greatly promote their growth, and prepare them for trans- 
planting into the regular and permanent blossoming beds, 
either in the autumn or early in the ensuing spring. It 
may be remarked that biennials are raised principally from 
seed sown every year. They seldom survive the second 
winter to flower in perfection, unless they are renewed by 
cuttings of top shoots, young flower stalks, or casual offsets, 
layers, &c. It will be unnecessary to take this trouble, 
unless it be with any extraordinary double-flowering plants. 
Some of the perennials may be increased by root offsets 
detached from the old plants, and planted in spring or 
autumn ; others by bottom suckers and slips of top shoots, 
layers, and pipings of young shoots, &c. 

Many sorts of biennial and perennial flower seeds may 
be sown in September, or as soon as ripe ; and if the 
plants get strong before the setting in of winter, some of 
them will flower the summer next ensuing. The following 
are amongst the hardiest : 



Adonis, spring-flowering. 
Alpine Columbine. 
Alyssum, yellow. 
Bee, larkspur. 
Columbine, in varieties. 
Coronet flowered Lychnis. 
Fox-glove, in varieties. 
Fraxinella. 
Hollyhock, in varieties. 



Lychnis, in varieties. 
Larkspur, perennial. 
Rose Campion, in varieties. 
.Rocket, in varieties. 
Scabious, in varieties. 
Valerian, Garden. 
Valerian, Gre^k. 
Everlasting Peas. > „i- u:„„ 
Virgin's Bower. \ chmbin S- 



It may be necessary to state further, that there are a 
great variety of beautiful double-flowering perennial herba- 
ceous plants^hat will not produce seed ; many of these 
may be obtained of the florists, and should be introduced 



BIENNIAL AND PERENNIAL PLANTS. I35 

into the regular flower beds ; the mode of increasing such; 
is by layers, cuttings, offsets, &c. detached from the old 
plants. As the earth within the flower beds will need to 
be fresh dug and replenished with good compost or manure, 
once in two or three years, it may- be necessary to take up 
all the perennial plants at such times. Such roots as may 
be overgrown, should be deprived of their surplus offsets, 
and may be either planted in a nursery bed, or returned 
with the parent plants into the regular flower beds. 

In removing plants into the beds where they arc intended 
to blossom, great pains should be taken to preserve some of 
the earth to their roots, and the ground should be previously 
brought into good condition, so that they may strike freely, 
and produce their flowers in perfection. The plants should 
be so arranged that they may all be seen. The most dwarfy 
may be placed in front, and others in a regular gradation to 
the tallest behind ; or the tallest may be planted along the 
middle of the beds, and the others on each side, according 
to their varied heights and colours. 

There is no part of gardening which requires so much 
elegance of taste and fancy, as in setting off a border or bed 
of intermixed flowers to advantage. In assemblage with 
other flowers, the different kinds of hardy bulbs may be 
planted in small clumps of six, seven, or eight inches in 
diameter, three, four, five or more roots in each, according 
to their size and growth, and these at suitable distances 
from one another. Likewise observe to diversify the kinds 
and colours, so as to display, when in bloom, the greatest 
possible variety of shades and contrasts. 

It may be observed further that established plants will 
always produce their blossoms earlier and stronger in the 
spring, than those recently transplanted ; it should, there- 
fore, be an object with gardeners to do the business of 
forming permanent flower beds, and of transplanting hardy 
Perennial and Biennial plants in September or October. 

The hardy bulbous roots must be also planted in October 
or November, which on being properly preserved through 
the Winter will embellish the parterre in spring by their 
early and 



136 BIENNIAL AND PERENNIAL PLANTS. 

FIRST FLOWERS. 

" First flowers of the spring time, 

Bright gems of the }jear, 
All lovely and blooming, 

How fresh ye appear : 
Springing up in the garden, 

The hedge row and vale, 
Enriched by the showers, 

And fann'd by the gale. 

Your beauty is transient, 

But oh ! it is sweet, 
As the deep-felt emotion 

W hen absent friends meet, 
After dangers surmounted, 

And miseries flown* 
Their lips and looks telling 

Of days that are gone ! 

Your herald— the tempest ; 

Your bed — the cold earth ; 
Unshelter'd and sunless, 

The place of your birth ; 
The snow-drift is sweeping, 

And dimly the moon 
From the eastward is stealing 

To hail your return." 

In my preliminary observations, I directed the attentioB 
of my readers to some important points respecting walks, 
edgings, &.c. — Although box is superior to any thing else 
for edgings ; yet in extensive gardens, dwarf plants of 
various kinds may be used (or such purpose Thrift is the 
neatest small evergreen next to box ; but Violets, Pinks, 
Periwinkle, Pansey, or even Parsley, Thyme, Strawberry 
plants, &c. may be used for the sake of diversity. These 
will require frequent watering and trimming, and the 
Thrift, &c. should be sometimes taken up, divided at the 
roots and replanted. Box edgings will also require frequent 
pruning and trimming; and once in from seven to ten 
years the whole may be taken up, divided and replanted, 
and the surplus slips may be planted in a nursery bed in 
rows about a foot apart ; these will be suitable for making 
edgings the year following. 



FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 137 

Flower beds should be kept free from weeds, and watered 
Occasionally in the summer. In the autumn they should 
be covered with straw or light litter ; this should be taken 
off in the spring, and the ground should be hoed and 
dressed in such a manner as to enliven the earth around 
the roots mf the plants, as also to give the whole a neat 
appearance* 



FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 

Arbrisseaux d 1 Ornement. 

Shrubs are so closely connected with flowering plants, 
and indeed so many of them are embellished with flowers, 
that they may be considered as essential to the completion 
of an ornamental g irden They are all perennial, and are 
divided into two classes, deciduous and evergreen ; the for- 
mer lose their leaves in the winter, the latter only shed 
them when others are ready to supply their places. Shrubs 
are not only necessary to the embellishment of a flower 
garden, but many kinds are eligible for hedges to it, and 
may be planted at a trifling expense. These hedges should 
be frequently trimmed and trained, the sides cut even, and 
the tops sparingly clipped, so as to make them ornamental, 
as well as useful, and also to increase the vigour of their 
growth. When hedges become open or naked at the 
bottom, they should be plashed down ; this is done by 
cutting the branches half through near the ground : they 
will then bend easily, and may be interwoven with the ad- 
joining branches. When shrubs, creepers, or climbers, are 
planted against walls or trellises, either on account of their 
rarity, delicacy, or to conceal a rough fence, or other 
unsightly object, they require different modes of training ; 
some attach themselves naturally, as the ivy, and merely 
require to be occasionally guided, so as to cause a regular 
distribution of their shoots ; others must be treated like 
fruit trees, trained thinly, if blossoms are the object, and 
rather thicker, if the intention be to show the foliage to the 
greatest possible advantage. 



138 FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 

Ornamental shrubs grow from one foot to twelve or more 
in height ; and where such are planted for ornament, the 
height of each plant, when full grown, should be considered, 
and also the mode of growth, that every one may be so 
planted as to show to advantage, observing that the tall- 
growing should be planted in the back part of rlie borders, 
and those of low growth forward ; but if they are required 
to be planted in clumps, they should be so arranged as to 
rise gradually from the sides to the middle, and be after- 
wards neatly trimmed. Shrubs require an annual pruning, 
at which time, cut out all irregular and superfluous branches, 
and head down such as require it, forming them into hand- 
some bushes ; apply stakes to such as may need support, 
and see that the low-growing ones do not injure each other, 
nor interfere with other dwarfish plants near them. 

Many kinds of shrubs may be raised from seed sown 
early in the spring, but are more commonly propagated by 
suckers, layers, or cuttings. Like other plants, they require 
a good soil, which should be manured every two or three 
years, and some of the tender kinds should have some pro- 
tection in winter. 

The following list taken from the New- York Farmer, 
furnished by Mr. Floy, contains the most of those usually 
planted in gardens and on lawns. These will furnish a 
succession of flowers from spring until fall, and may be 
obtained at the nurseries at moderate prices. 



Amorphafruticosa, — Indigo shrub, with handsome bunches 
of purple flowers in great quantities. 

Amygdalus nana, Dwarf double-flowering Almond ; a 
very beautiful shrub, about three feet high. 

Aralia spinosa, or Angelica tree, about ten feet high ; 
flowers in very large bunches, and continues a long season. 
Cytisus Laburnum, or Golden Chain ; a most elegant 
shrub, with long racemes or bunches of yellow flowers in 
the greatest profusion ; there are two kinds, the English 
and the Scotch Laburnum. The Scotch is the largest, 



FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 139 

forming a pretty large shrub ; the English kind is greener, 
more compact, and by some, thought to be the handsomest; 
they ought to be in every garden. 

Calycanthus Floridus, Allspice, or sweet-scented shrub, a 
native of the Southern States ; the flowers are of a very 
dark chocolate colour, and the fragrance very much resem- 
bles ripe strawberries, easily kept where once introduced ; 
this shrub generally grows about five feet high in gardens. 

Ceanothus Americanus, Red root, or Jersey Tea tree, a 
plant or two in the collection, as it flowers in profusion, is 
worth having. 

Cercis siliquastrum, or Judas tree. The flowers appear 
very early before the leaves come out, and make a fine 
appearance : as it grows rather tall, it is calculated for the 
back row of the shrubbery. 

Colutea arborescens, or Bladder Senna, having bunches of 
yellow flowers, which are succeeded by seeds in a kind of 
bladder, calculated for the back or centre row of shrubberies, 

Crataegus oxyacantha, the Hawthorn. It makes a pretty 
appearance planted out singly in the back or centre row ; 
the flowers are very fragrant ; it is sometimes called the 
Pride of May ; the double white, double scarlet, and single 
scarlet Hawthorn, are extremely beautiful, and ought to be 
in every plantation. Hawthorn hedges are much used in 
England, where they look very handsome when clipped; 
but they do not answer so well in this country, the heat 
of our summers causing the leaves to fall off* early, often in 
July ; on that account they are not much used. We have 
several things which are better calculated for that purpose. 

Cydonia Japonica, or Pyrus Japonica, a very beautiful 
scarlet-flowering shrub, from Japan, has not been in cul- 
tivation here for many years. It is found to be very hardy, 
resisting our most severe frosts ; it is evergreen,, flowers 
very early, and continues a long time. A second flowering 
takes place in the latter part of the summer. It is every 
way a desirable shrub. 

Daphne mezerion, one of our most early flowering shrubs, 
often flowering in February, and very sweet scented. It is 



140 FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 

rather tender in some situations, but will stand our ordinary 
winters very well in a sheltered situation. 

Dirca palustris, or Leather wood ; a pretty little shrub, 
growing very regular in shape, and ha3 the appearance of a 
large tree in miniature ; it is a native of our Northern 
States : the flowers appear very early, are yellow, and come 
out before the leaves. 

Gymnocladus canadensis^ or Kentucky Coffee tree. The 
berries have a resemblance to coffee, and are said to be 
a good substitute for it ; however, it is a beautiful tree, with 
handsome feathered leaves, and makes a fine contrast with 
others. It should be planted in the back or the centre of 
the plantation, and is very hardy. 

Halesia diptera, and Halesia tetraptera, two-winged and 
four-winged Silver Bell, or Snow-drop tree. They are both 
natives of the Southern States, but are perfectly hardy here ; 
our most severe winters do not hurt them. The former 
kind flowers a month later than the latter, which flowers 
early in May. They are both elegant shrubs. 

Hibiscus Syriacus, ji. pleno. The double flowering 
Althea frutex, of which there are several varieties, the 
double white, double red, double red and white, and striped, 
are the most showy : they commence their flowering late in 
July, and continue till fall, coming in at a very acceptable 
time. The single kind, of which there are many varieties, 
are scarcely worth cultivating, the double ones being raised 
quite as well, and are equally hardy. These are indispen- 
sable in every plantation. 

Hypericum frutescens, Shrubby Hypericum. There are 
several species of this small beautiful shrub, all natives of 
the Southern States, but perfectly hardy here. They all 
flower in the greatest profusion, and continue for a long 
season. They should be planted in the front row. 

Kerria Japonica, or Corchorus Japo?iica, yellow Japan 
Globe flower ; although a native of Japan, like many other 
Japanese flowers, it is. perfectly hardy here. It flowers in 
the greatest profusion at all times, except in the very dead 
of winter, and will grow almost in any soil or situation. 

Kcelreutcria paniculata, Japan bladder tree, or Kadre- 



FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 14J 

terius. This is another hardy shrub from Japan. It has 
long racemes of flowers, succeeded by bladder-like fruit, 
and is worthy of cultivation in every good collection. 

Ligustrum vulgare, virens. Large European Privet, a 
very handsome evergreen shrub, flowering in great profusion, 
producing bunches of black round berries. It bears 
slipping weU, and is therefore well calculated for hedges, or 
to enclose ornamental plantations. It grows quick, and is 
well adapted to our climate, and when planted in a hedge- 
row, and kept clipped, it makes a beautiful hedge, and ought 
to be in more general use. 

Philadelphus coronarius, or common Syringa, is very 
ornamental, producing its sweet-scented flowers early, and 
in abundance. 

Philadelphus inodorous, and P. grandiflorus, Garland 
Syringa, are both natives of the Southern States, but quite 
hardy here. Their flowers are large, and continue for 
several months, in wreaths or garlands. They are well 
calculated for the centre row, and also to hide unsightly 
objects, and have a beautiful effect when mixed with 
monthly honey-suckles, &c 

Peisica, or Amygrialus Persica, fl. rosea pleno, or double- 
flowering Peach, is very beautiful in shrubberies. It some- 
times bears fruit, but it is cultivated entirely for its beautiful 
blossoms. A few trees also of the Chinese double-flowering 
Apple, (Pyms spectabilis,) have also a beautiful effect. 

Rhus cotinus, Venetian sumach, Aaron's beard, some- 
times called fringe tree, is a fine shrub, calculated for the 
centre of the clump or shrubbery. Its large branches of 
fringe remaining all summer,. give it a curious and striking 
effect. 

Ribes Missouriensis, or Missouri currant ; there are two 
species of this very ornamental shrub from Missouri, intro- 
duced by Lewis & Clarke ; they are quite hardy, and flower 
in great profusion. 

Robinia glutinosa, and Robinia hispida ; the former a 
pretty large shrub, with fine bunchts of flowers in great 
abundance, the other a smaller shrub ; both of them are 
worthy of a place in the large collections. 



142 FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUB3. 

Robinia pseudo-acacia, or Yellow Locust tree.* This is 
superior to any other kind of wood for ship-trunnels, mill- 
cogs, and fence-posts, as well as for various other purposes. 
Its culture is very easy* and may be propagated in great 
abundance, by sowing the seed in March, April, or May, in 
a bed of good sandy loam, which is its favourite soil, and 
covering half an inch deep. Previous to sowing, put the 
seed i-i a basin, pour on scalding water, and let it stand all 
night ; pick out such seeds as are swollen, and plant them 
immediately ; next evening repeat the same process, with 
such as did not swell the first night, mix the whole and 
sow them ; they will come up in the course of the following 
month numerously ; for no seeds grow more freely, not- 
withstanding what some may say to the contrary. When 
a year old, transplant them out of the seed bed into nursery 
rows, four feet distant, and plant from plant, one foot in the 
row. Having two or three years' growth in these rows, 
they may be planted successfully in any warm and tolerably 
rich sandy ground. They may also be propagated by suck- 
ers, which they throw up abundantly, especially if some of 
the wide-extending roots be cut through with an axe. An 
acre of these trees, planted at two feet distant each way, will 
contain 10,890 ; at four feet distant, 2,722 ; and it is said 
that no appropriation of land is more lucrative than that 
devoted to this purpose. The Three-Thorned Acacia Seed 
(GledihcJiia) should be prepared in the same manner. 

Rosa, or roses, a very numerous variety of them ; some 
reckon five or six hundred kinds. They are accounted the 
most beautiful of Flora's productions. Perhaps a handsome 
collection might be made of about fifty of the best sorts, 
which, by taking such quantity, I suppose might be obtained 
at about fifty cents each, under name ; and, generally, a 
fine collection unnamed, at half that amount. No good 
garden or shrubbery can be without them. 

Sorbus aucuparia, Mountain Ash, or Roan tree. This 
is a very beautiful shrub of the larger size ; the leaves are 



* This tiee is introduced here, rather on account of its usefulness than 
beauty, though the latter is very considerable. 



FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 143 

ornamental; the flowers and fruit, which are produced in 
large bunches, are beautiful ; the fruit remains till late in 
the autumn ; it is a native of Europe. 

Sorbus Canadensis. This is a native of our northern 
frontiers and mountains ; it does not grow as large as the 
former ; the berries are smaller and red, the former larger 
and of an orange colour, but otherwise much resemble it. 

Spartium junceum, and Genista, two or three species of 
Broom, with bunches of yellow flowers in very great profu- 
sion ; the Genista, or Spanish Broom, has white flowers, is 
also very pretty, but not <}uite so hardy as the former. 

Symphoria racemosa, or Snow-berry, sometimes called 
Snow-apple, a pretty little shrub; the bunches of wax-like 
white berries, which it produces during the whole summer, 
give it a beautiful appearance. 

Syringa vulgaris, or common Lilac, is well known to all, 
and needs no comment. The white variety is not quite so 
common — they are only fit for outside plantings, as they 
sucker very freely, and soon make themselves common. 

Syringa Persica, or Persian Lilac, is a delicate low shrub, 
the flowers very abundant, and the leaves small and delicate. 
There are two varieties of the Persian Lilac ; the white 
flowering, and the blue or purple flowering. 

The Chinese cut-leaved Lilac is very curious ; the leaves 
are cut like Parsley, the flowers growing in longer racemes 
than the former. 

Siberian, or large Persian Lilac. The bunches of flowers 
are very large, and continue in season a long time after the 
common Lilac. 

Tamarix Gallica, or French Tamarix, and the Tamarix 
Germaniea, German Tamarix, are two pretty shrubs ; the 
leaves and branches are small and slender, producing quan- 
tities of beautiful flowers, and form a very striking contrast 
to the other part of the shrubbery. 

Viburnum opulus, or Guilder rose, otherwise called Snow- 
ball, is a very showy shrub, with large balls of snow-white 
flowers in the greatest profusion ; and is indispensably 
necessary to every shrubbery. 



144 FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS. 

Vitex agnus castus, or Chaste tree, a pretty and singular 
shrub, flowering the most part of the summer. 

CLIMBING PLANTS. 

Bignonia radicans, or Trumpet creeper, with bunches of 
red trumpet-shaped flowers, large and showy. 

Bignonia grandijlora, is much like the former in habit 
and appearance, but the flowers are much larger. It is 
said to be a native of China, and the former a native of this 
country. They are both perfectly hardy, and will climb up 
brick work or wooden fences, without any assistance. 

Clematis, or Virgiris Bower. There are several species, 
some of them tender, or not sufficiently hardy for our severe 
winters, without protection. The Clematis Virginica, Vi- 
orna, Viticella, and Vitalba, are perfectly hardy. 

Glycine Sinensis, or Wistaria Sinensis, is a handsome 
Chinese creeper of recent introduction, from China, and is 
not yet common in our nurseries. It is a beautiful vine, 
running to a great height, and loaded with long racemes of 
purple flowers, and is highly spoken of in the Gardener's 
Magazine. 

American Glycine frutescens, or Wistaria frutescens. 
This beautiful brother of the Chinese kind, is a native of 
our Southern States, grows much in the same way as the 
others, and perhaps not inferior. Although this fine creeper 
has been long known in England, we have not heard much 
about it by English writers ; the conclusion seems to be, that 
it does not flower well in England. In fact, none of our 
Southern plants do well in that country, while those from 
China do very well — here, however, it is quite the reverse. 
I have the Chinese Wistaria Sinensis from fifteen to twenty 
feet high, and the American Wistaria about the same 
height. The Chinese does not look so vigorous and green 
as his American brother. — The American Wistaria should 
be planted in every garden with other creepers, or to run up 
the trees in shrubberies, according to its natural position. 

Lonicera, comprehending all the fine sweet-scented honey- 
suckles. Of the Italian kinds, the monthly honeysuckle is 



FLOWERING AND ORNAMENtfAL SHRUBS. 145 

decidedly superior, continuing to flower all through the 
summer, until late in the fall, and is very fragrant. Some of 
the other European kinds may be occasionally introduced 
into large shrubberies. There is a white honeysuckle 
lately introduced from France, denominated Hedysarum 
coronarium, which is in great repute* Two or three 
American kinds deserve particular notice. 

Lonicera semper virens, or Coral trumpet, monthly honey* 
suckle, is extremely beautiful, flowering the whole of the 
summer, with its thousands of scarlet bunches. It is, 
however, destitute of scent. 

Lonicera JFraseri, also an American : the flowers are like 
the other kind in almost every particular, except colour, 
this being a bright yellow. 

Lonicera, pubescens, or Caprifolium pubescens, a large 
and beautiful honeysuckle from the North-west coast ; the 
flowers are large, and of a bright copper colour, inclining to 
orange — they are all perfectly hardy. 

Lonicera flexuosa — Chinese honeysuckle of late intro- 
duction ; it is perfectly hardy, withstanding our most severe 
frosts without the least injury ; it is a very sweet-scented 
honeysuckle, grows rapidly, and to an immense height. It 
flowers in pairs and threes all up the branches, covering the 
whole plant completely with flowers. It blossoms spring 
and fall, and is a very valuable acquisition to our gardens 
and shrubberies. 

Lonicera Japonica, or Japan honeysuckle. This bears 
flowers in great profusion, which are white, afterwards be- 
coming of a light yellow. This is not so hardy as the 
former, and requires a little protection in the winter. 

I shall only add to the above, the running kinds of roses, 
although there are many other things which might be men- 
tioned. 

Rosa multiflora, from China, is pretty well known, pro- 
ducing thousands of small double red roses in bunches. It 
requires a sheltered situation from some of our keen north- 
westers. Rosa multiflora alba, from the same country, is of 
late importation, but as it increases readily, may be ob- 

13 



146 FLOWERING AND ORNAMENTAL SHRUS0. 

f aiiied at about the same price as the former ; the bunches 
of flowers are white. Rosa GriveUis, a running rose, also 
from China, the flowers of various colours. Rosa rubifolia, 
Raspberry-leaved rose, from our northern frontiers, and 
extending over the western country; although a single- 
flowering rose, it produces large bunches of flowers, which 
are differently colored on the same bunch, exactly like the 
former China kind, and is another instance of the similarity 
of plants, natives of China, and our country. 

Rosa caninafl.pleno. English double dog rose, is a very 
pretty little double rose, and will run to a great height. 
Rosa Banskii, Lady Banks' double white China running 
rose ; it runs up and spreads much — it may be easily known 
from others of the running roses, by its being entirely des- 
titute of prickles. Rosa Noisette, and Champney's, are 
said to have been raised from China seeds in Carolina — 
they are not strictly running roses, but as they grow up tall, 
are fine ornaments for the shrubbery, flowering during the 
whole of the summer and fall, in large clusters. The 
Madeira rose, or double white cluster, musk— It flowers all 
through the summer and fall months, and is therefore well 
adapted for the shrubbery. Rosa Cherokensis, called the 
nondescript, or Georgia rose — the flowers are veiy large 
and white, the centre yellow. This is a running rose, 
growing very high around trees, &c. 

Rosa rubiginosa, or Sweetbriar, is too well known to 
need description. 

Deciduous shrubs may be planted at any time after they 
lose their leaves, and before the buds begin to expand in the 
spring, provided the ground can be brought into good con- 
dition to receive them ; the holes should be dug capacious 
enough to hold the roots without cramping them, and some 
earth, well pulverized, must be thrown equally among the 
fibres of the roots, which should be well shaken, and the 
earth trodden down around the plants, until brought to the 
level required. Evergreens should be removed carefully 
with a ball of earth connected with their roots, and some 
good mould should be provided to fill in with. 



147 



THE 



BEAUTIES OF APRIL AND MAY, 



The following article is submitted, as being well calcu- 
lated to afford amateurs mental recreation, while engaged 
in rural pursuits; and it is presumed that the practical 
gardener will not view the insertion of this article as a 
digression, as it exhibits the beauty and order of the flowery 
tribe, better than it could have been done in any other way* 

APRIL,, 

" Descend, sweet April, from yon watery bow, 
And liberal strew the ground with budding flowers. 
With leafless Crocus, leaf- veiled Violet,- 
Auricula, with powdered cup> Primrose 
That loves to lurk below the Hawthorn shade.'* 

It is generally admitted that the month of April gives the 
most perfect image of spring ; for its vicissitudes of warm 
gleams of sunshine and gentle showers, have the most pow- 
erful effect in hastening the universal springing of the vege- 
table tribes, from whence the season derives its appellation. 
Next comes the favourite month in the year in poetical 
description. 

MAY. 

" For thee, sweet month, the groves green liv'rics wjtar ; 
If not the first, the fairest in the year ; 
Thou dost afford us many pleasant hours, 
While Nature's ready pencil paints the flowers." 

The pious Hervey, in his Meditations on the Flower Gar- 
den, has furnished us many sublime ideas respecting the 
order, variety, and beauty of the flowery tribe.* It is in 



* Those who have read Hervey's Meditations on the Flower Garden, will 
discover that the pious author's phraseology, and several of his sublime ideas, 
are interspersed through this article, which, from being blended with other 
matter, could not be designated in the customary way. 



148 THE BEAUTIES OF APRIL AND MAT. 

vain to attempt a catalogue of those amiable gifts. There 
is an endless multiplicity in their characters, yet an inva- 
riable order in their approaches. Every month, almost every 
week, has its peculiar ornaments ; not servilely copying the 
works of its predecessors, but forming, still forming, and 
still executing, some new design ; so lavish is the fancy, yet 
so exact is the process of Nature. Were all the flowery 
tribe to exhibit themselves at one particular season, there 
would be at once a promiscuous throng, and at once a total 
privation. 

We should scarcely have an opportunity of adverting to 
the dainty qualities of half, and must soon lose the agreeable 
company of them all. But now, since every species has a 
separate post to occupy, and a distinct interval for appearing, 
we can take a leisurely and minute survey of each succeed- 
ing set. We can view and review their forms, enter into 
a more intimate acquaintance with their charming accom- 
plishments, and receive all those pleasing sensations which 
they are calculated to yield. 

Before the trees have ventured to unfold their leaves, and 
while the icicles are pendant on our houses, the Snow-drop 
breaks her way through the frozen soil, fearless of danger. 
Next peeps out the Crocus, but cautiously and with an air 
of timidity. She shuns the howling blasts, and cleaves 
closely to her humble situation. Nor is the Violet last in 
the shining embassy, which, with all the embellishments 
that would grace a royal garden, condescends to line our 
borders, and bloom at the feet of briars. Freely she distri- 
butes the bounty of her emissive sweets, while herself retires 
from sight, seeking rather to administer pleasure than to 
win admiration. Emblem, expressive emblem, of those 
modest virtues which delight to bloom in obscurity. There 
are several kinds of Violets, but the fragrant, both blue and 
white, are the earliest. Shakspeare compares an exquisitely 
sweet strain of music to the delicious scent of this flower : 

" Oh! it came o'er my ear like the sweet South, 
That breathes upon a bank of Violets, 
Stealing any" giving odour. 1 ' 



THE BEAUTIES OF APRIL AND MAT. 149 

The pious Hervey, in his admonitions to those who 
indulge in sloth, has thrown out the following sublime ideas : 
What sweets' are those which so agreeably salute my nos- 
trils. They are the breath of the flowers, the incense of 
the garden. How liberally does the Jasmine dispense her 
odoriferous riches! How deliciously has the Woodbine 
embalmed this morning walk J The air is all perfume. 
And is not this another most engaging argument to forsake 
the bed of sloth 1 Who would be involved in senseless 
slumbers, while so many breathing sweets invite him to a 
feast of fragrancy — especially considering that the advan- 
cing day will exhale the volatile dainties 1 A fugitive treat 
they are, prepared only for the wakeful and industrious. 
Whereas, when the sluggard lifts his heavy eyes, the flowers 
will droop, their fine sweets be dissipated, and instead of 
this refreshing humidity, the air will become a kind of liquid 
fire. 

With this very motive, heightened by a representation of 
the most charming pieces of morning scenery, the parent of 
mankind awakes his lovely consort. There is such a 
delicacy in the choice, and so much life in the description of 
these rural images, that I cannot excuse myself without 
repeating the whole passage. Whisper it, some friendly 
genius, in the ear of every one, who is now sunk in sleep, 
and lost to all these refined gratifications ! 

!* Awake ! the morning shines, and the fresh field 
Calls you » ye lose the prime> to mark how spring 
The tended plants, how blows the Citron grove ; 
What drops the Myrrhi and what the balmy Reed ; 
How Nature paints her colour, how the bee 
Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweets." 

How delightful is this fragrance ! It is distributed in 
the nicest proportion ; neither so strong as to oppress the 
organs, nor so faint as to elude them. We are soon cloyed 
at a sumptuous banquet ; but this pleasure never loses its 
poignancy, never palls the appetite. Here luxury itself is 
innocence ; or rather in this case, indulgence is incapable of 
excess. This balmy entertainnment not only regales the 
' 13* 



150 THE BEAUTIES OF APRIL AND MAY. 

sense, but cheers the very soul ; and, instead of clogging, 
elates its powers. 

" The soft green grass is growing 

O'er meadow and o'er dale ; 
The silvery founts are flowing 

Upon the verdant vale ; 
The pale Snow-drop is springing 

To greet the glowing Sun ; 
The Primrose sweet is flinging 

Perfume the fields along ; 
The trees are in the blossom, 

The birds are in their song ; 
As Spring upon the bosom 

Of Nature's borne along." 

So the dawn of human life 

Doth green and verdant spring : 
It doth little ween the strife — 
Like the Snow-drop it is fair, 

And like the Primrose sweet, 
But its innocence can't scare 

The blight from its retreat.* 

Our subject is so enchanting, that we had inadvertently 
wandered from the path we first entered. We now retrace 
our steps, and take a glance at surrounding objects. The 
fields look green with the springing grass. See the Daffodil 
how it spreads itself to the wind! The leaves of Honey- 
suckles begin to expand, and Lilacs, or Syringas, of various 
hues, unfold their buds. The Almond exhibits its rosy 
clusters, and the Corchorus its golden balls. Many of the 
lowlier plants exhibit their yellow and purple colours, and 
the buds of Lilies, and other perennial plants, prepare 
to show themselves. If we turn our attention to the orchard, 
we behold the Apricots, Nectarines, and Peaches* lead the 
way in blossoming, which are followed by the Cherry and 
the Plum. These form a most agreeable spectacle, as well 
on account of their beauty as of the promise they give 
of future benefits. It is, however, an anxious time for the 
possessor, as the fairest prospect of a plentiful increase 
is often blighted. Shakspeare draws a pathetic comparison 



THE BEAUTIES OF APRIL AND MAY. 151 

from this circumstance, of the delusive nature of human 
expectations : 

'' This is the state of man ; to-day he puts forth 
• The tender leaves of hope ; to-morrow blossoms, 

And bears his blushing honors thick upon him ; 
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, 
And nips his root." 

But we now return to the garden. Before we have time 
to explore Nature's treasures, many disappear ; among these 
are the humble Daisy, which shrinks from the intense heat, 
and the several varieties of Primulas or early spring flowers. 
The various grades of Polyanthus deserve a close inspec- 
tion ; these, for a while, exhibit their sparkling beauties, 
but alas ! soon disappear. Scarcely have we sustained this 
loss, but in comes the Auricula, and more than retrieves it. 
Arrayed she comes in a splendid variety of amiable forms, 
with an eye of crystal, and garments of the most glossy 
satin. A very distinguished procession this ! The favorite 
care of the florist, but these also soon disappear. Who 
could forbear grieving at their departure, did not the various 
sorts of bulbous flowers burst their bands asunder, or rather 
expand, so as to exhibit their fragrance and beauty. 

" Fair-handed Spring 
Throws out the Snow-drop and the Crocus first, 
The Daisy, Primrose, Violet darkly blue, 
And Polyanthus with unnumbered dyes. 
Then comes the Auricula, enriched with shining meal, 
O'er all their velvet leaves.'* 

While we reluctantly dispense with the sweet perfumes 
of the Hyacinth and Narcissus, we behold the Tulips begin 
to raise themselves on their fine wands or stately stalks. 
They flush the parterre with one of the gayest dresses that 
blooming Nature wears. Here one may behold the innocent 
wantonness of beauty. Here she indulges a thousand freaks, 
and sports herself in the most charming diversity of colours. 
In a grove of Tulips, or a bed of Pinks, one perceives 
a difference in almost every individual. Scarcely any two 



152 THE BEAUTIES OP APRIL AND MAY. 

are turned and tinted exactly alike. What colours, what 
colours are here ! these so nobly bold, and those so delicately 
languid. 

What a glow is enkindled in some ! what a gloss shines 
upon others. With what a masterly skill is every one of 
the varying tints disposed ! Here they seem to be thrown 
on with an easy dash of security and freedom ; there they 
are adjusted by the nicest touches of art and accuracy. 
Those colours which form the ground are always so judi- 
ciously chosen, as to heighten the lustre of the superadded 
figures ; while the verdure of the impalement, or shadings 
of the foliage, impart new liveliness to the whole. Fine, 
inimitably fine, is the texture of the web on which these 
shining treasures are displayed. What are the labours of 
the Persian looms ; what all the gay attire which the shuttle 
or the needle can furnish, compared with Nature's works? 
One cannot forbear reflecting in this place, on the too pre- 
vailing humour of being fond and ostentatious of dress. 
What an abject and mistaken ambition is this ! How 
unworthy the dignity of man, and the wisdom of rational 
beings ! Especially since these little productions of the 
earth have indisputably the pre-eminence in such outward 
embellishments. 

" Bright tulips, we do know, 

Ye had your coming hither, 
And fading time doth show, 

That ye must quickly wither. 

Your sisterhood may stay, 

And srmle here for an hour, 
But ye must quickly die away, 

E'en as the meanest flower. 

Come virgins, then, and see 

Your frailties, and bemoan ye ; 
For lost like these, — 'twill be 

As time had never known ye." 

But let us not forget the fragrant, the very fragrant Wall 
and G-illy-flowers ; some of these regale us with their per- 



THE BEAUTIES OP APRIL AND MAY. I53 

fumes through various vicissitudes and alterations of the 
season, while others make a transient visit only. 

" I love thee, lone and pensive flower, 

Because thou dost not flaunt thy bloom 
In pleasure's gay and garnished bower, 

Or luxury's proud banquet room; 
But on the silent mouldering wall 

Thy clinging leaves a fragrance shed, 
Or give to the deserted hall 

A relic of its glories fled. 

These wreaths, in vivid freshness bright, 

Methinks the fluttering herd portray, 
Who bask in fortune's golden light, 

And wanton in her joyous way ; 
But thou art like that gentle love, 

Which blooms when friends and fame have passed, 
Towers the dark wreck of hope above, 

And smiles through ruin to the last." 

In favoured situations arises the Anemone, encircled at 
the bottom with a spreading robe, and rounded at the top 
into a beautiful dome. In its loosely-flowing mantle, you 
may observe a noble negligence ; in its gently-bending tufts 
the nicest symmetry. This may be termed the fine gentle- 
man of the garden, because it seems to possess the means 
of uniting simplicity with refinement, of reconciling art and 
ease. The same month has the merit of producing the 
Ranunculus. All bold and graceful, it expands the riches 
of its foliage, and acquires by degrees the loveliest enamel 
in the world. As persons of intrinsic worth disdain the 
superficial arts of recommendation practised by fops, so this 
lordly flower scorns to borrow any of its excellencies from 
powders and essences. It needs no such attractions to 
render it the darling of the curious, being sufficiently enga- 
ging from the elegance of its figure, the radiant variety of 
its tinges, and a certain superior dignity of aspect. 

JUNE. 

,: Now have young April, and the blue-eyed May, 
Vanished awhile, and lo ! the glorious 3 une 
(While Nature ripens in his burning noon,) 
Comes like a young inheritor," 



154 THE BEAUTIES OF APRIL AND MAY. 

I had intended to confine our meditations to the beauties 
of April and May, but Nature seems to improve in her 
operations. Her latest strokes are the most masterly. To 
crown the collection, she introduces the Carnation, which 
captivates our eyes with a noble spread of graces, and 
charms another sense with a profusion of exquisite odours. 
This single flower has centered in itself the perfection of all 
the preceding. The moment it appears, it so commands 
our attention, that we scarcely regret the absence of the rest. 

" Maternal Flora, with benignant hand, 
Her flowers profusely scatters o'er the land : 
These deck the vallies with unnumbered hues, 
And far around their pregnant sweets diffuse ; 
The broad carnations, gay and spotted Pinks, 
Are showered profuse along the rivers' brinks " 

The field we have entered is so extensive and so enchant- 
ing, that we cannot extricate ourselves, without taking a 
cursory glance at the airs and habits, the attitude and 
lineaments, of each distinct class. See the Peeonia of 
China, splendid and beautifully grand ! View the charming 
Rose, delicate and languishingly fair ! and while you inhale 
its balmy sweetness, you will be constrained to admire 
it, notwithstanding its thorny appendages. 

l{ Rose ! thou art the sweetest flower 
That ever drank the amber shower ; 
Rose ! thou art the fondest child 
Of dimpled Spring ! the wood-nymph wild ! 
Resplendent Rose ! the flower of flowers, 
Whose breath perfumes Olympus' bowers; 
Whose virgin blush, of chastened dye, 
Enchants so much our mental eye, 
Oft has the Poet's magic tongue 
The Rose's fair luxuriance sung." 

Behold all the pomp and glory of the parterre, where 
Nature's paint and perfume do wonders. Some rear their 
heads as with a majestic mien, and overlook, like sovereigns 
or nobles, the whole parterre. Others seem more modest 
in their aims, and advance only to the middle stations ; a 



THE BEAUTIES OP APRIL AND MAY. 155 

genius turned for heraldry might term them the gentry 
of the border ; while others, free from all aspiring airs, 
creep unambitiously on the ground, and look like the com- 
monalty of the kind. Some are intersected with elegant 
stripes, or studded with radiant spots. Some affect to be 
genteelly powdered, or neatly fringed ; while others are 
plain in their aspect, unaffected in their dress, and content 
to please with a naked simplicity. Some assume the mo- 
narch's purple ; some look most becoming in the virgin's 
white ; but black, doleful black, has no admittance into the 
wardrobe of spring. The weeds of mourning would be a 
manifest indecorum, when Nature holds an universal festival. 
She would now inspire none but delightful ideas, and there- 
fore always makes her appearance in some amiable suit* 
Here stands a warrior clad with crimson ; there sits a 
magistrate robed in scarlet ; and yonder struts a pretty 
fellow, that seems to have dipped his plumes in the rainbow? 
and glitters in all the gay colours of that resplendent arch. 
Some rise into a curious cup, or fall into a set of beautiful 
bells. Others spread themselves in a swelling tuft, or crowd 
into a delicious cluster. In some the predominant stain 
softens by the gentlest diminutions, till it has even stolen 
away from itself. The eye is amused at the agreeable 
delusion, and we wonder to find ourselves insensibly decoyed 
into quite a different lustre. In others one would think the 
fine tinges were emulous of pre-eminence ; disdaining to 
mingle, they confront one another with the resolution of 
rivals, determined to dispute the prize of beauty ; while each 
is improved, by the opposition, into the highest vivacity 
of complexion. 

,( Mrs. Pseony came in quite late in a heat, 

With the Tee-plant, dew-spangled from forehead to feet ; 

Lobelia, attired like a queen in her pride, 

And Dahhasj with trimmings new-furbished and dyed, 

And the blue-bells, and Hare-bells in simple array, 

With all their Scotch cousins from highland and brae, 

Ragged Ladies and Marigolds clustered together, 

And gossip'd of scandal, the news, and the weather ; 

What dresses were worn at the wedding so fine 

Of sharp Mrs. Thistle, and sweet Columbine." 



156 
OBSERVATIONS 

ON THE 

CULTIVATION OF BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS-ROOTED 

PLANTS. 



These plants exhibit a striking variety of the beauties of 
nature. It would seem as if every change she was capable 
of forming, was included in the radiant colours of the Tulip. 
Never was a cup either painted or enamelled with such a 
profusion of tints. Its stripes are so glowing, its contrasts 
so strong, and the arrangement of them both so elegant 
and artful, that it may, with propriety, be denominated the 
reigning beauty of the garden in its season. The Hyacinth 
is also an estimable flower for its blooming complexion, as 
well as for its most agreeable perfume and variety. 

s: The Hyacinlh, purple, white, and blur, 
"Which flung from its bells a sweet peal anew, 
Of music so delicate, soft, intense, 
It was felt like an odour within the sense*" 

The Double Dahlia, in its numerous varieties, is incon- 
ceivably splendid. It is only about forty years since the 
first of these, which was single, was introduced into Europe 
from Mexico. 

Double Dahlias of three colours were first known in the 
year 1802, since that time the varieties have so increased, 
that such as a few years ago were considered beautiful, are 
now thrown away to give place to the more splendid sorts. 
I have good authority for stating, that upwards of twenty 
thousands seedlings are raised yearly in England, only a 
few of which are introduced into the collections of amateurs, 
to take the place of such old sorts as may from time to time 
be rejected. This is done, in order that none but the very 
choicest be retained in such collections. 



BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS-ROOTED PLANTS. 157 

In some gardens in Holland they cultivate, by distinct 
names, about eleven hundred varieties of Tulips, thirteen 
hundred of Hyacinths, and six hundred of Ranunculuses 
and Anemones, some of which are sold as high as sixty 
dollars the single root. It is stated in the travels of Mr. 
Dutens, of his having known ten thousand florins, equal to 
$4000, refused for a single Hyacinth ; and Dodsley says, 
in his Annual Register for 1765, that the Dutch of all 
ranks, from the greatest to the meanest, during the years 
from 1634 to 1637 inclusive, neglected their business to 
engage in the Tulip trade. Accordingly in those days, the 
Viceroy was sold for £250, the Admiral Liefkeens £440, 
and Semper Augustus at from £500 to £1000 each ; and 
also, that a collection of Tulips was sold by the executors of 
one Wouter Broekholsmentser for £9000. It is stated that 
in one city in Holland, in the space of three years, they had 
traded for a million sterling in Tulips. 

As a full catalogue of all the varieties of bulbous and 
tuberous- rooted plants would occupy a number of pages, 
without affording much general interest, I shall content 
myself by devoting a short paragraph in describing some of 
each particular species, which Will be accompanied with 
directions for their culture, in a brief, and, at the same 
time, explicit manner. 

It may be here necessary to define the difference between 
bulbous and tuberous roots. Those designated bulbous, 
have skins similar to Onions, or the Allium tribe ; and 
tuberous roots imply all such as produce tubers something 
similar to Potatoes. 

The soil for bulbous and tuberous roots in general should 
be light and yet capable of retaining moisture, not such as 
is liable to become bound up by heat, or that in consequence 
of too large a portion of sand, is likely to become violently 
hot in summer ; but a medium earth between the two 
extremes. But as many city gardens do not contain a 
natural soil of any depth, a suitable compost should be pro- 
vided in such cases, which may consist of equal parts of 
sand, loam, rotten manure, mould, &c. 

14 



158 BULBOUS AND TUBEEOUS-ROOTED PLAttTfSV 

When ready, the beds maybe laid out, from three to four 
feet wide, and they should be raised two or three inches 
above the level of the walks, which will give an opportunity 
for all superfluous moisture to run off. Let the beds thus 
formed be pulverized to the depth of fifteen or eighteen 
inches ; and at the time of planting, let a small quantity of 
beach sand be strewed in the apertures or trenches, pre- 
pared for the roots to grow in, both before and after placing 
them, which will prove beneficial. 

A southern exposure, dry and airy, and sheltered from 
the north-west winds, is preferable for most bulbs. But 
Anemones and Ranunculuses should be in some measure 
sheltered from the intense heat of noon, 

Beds of hardy bulbous and tuberous roots should be 
covered on the approach of winter with litter, leaves, straw, 
or such earth as is formed by the decay of leaves, to the 
depth of two or three inches, as it prevents any ill effects 
which a severe season may have on the roots ; but it should 
be carefully raked off again in the spring. 

Bulbous roots in general should be taken up in about a 
month or six weeks after the bloom is exhausted ; the 
foliage or leaves then turn yellow. If fine warm weather, 
the bulbs may be dried on the beds they grew on, by placing 
them in separate rows, being careful not to mix the several 
varieties together. To prevent such an accident, labels 
may be affixed to, or placed in the ground opposite each 
bulb — they will keep much better for being dried gradually ; 
to this end, a little dry earth may be shaken over them, to 
screen them from the heat of the sun. If it should rain 
before they get dry, take them in, or cover them with 
boards ; when dry, clear them of the fibres and stems, and 
then put them away in dry sand ; or wrapped in paper, 
they may be kept in boxes or drawers until the season of 
planting again. 

The tender tuberous roots, such as Dahlias, and the 
like, will have to be taken up before the cold becomes 
severe. As the Dahlia exhibits its flowers in all their splen- 
dour, until nipped by the frost, the roots ought, in the event 



BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS-ROOTED PLANTS. 150 

of a very sudden attack, to be secured from its blighting 
effects. They are not apt to keep well, if taken up 
before they are ripened ; the tops should, therefore, be cut 
down as soon as they have done flowering, and the 
ground covered around the roots, with dung or litter ; this 
will enable them to ripen without being injured by frost ; 
and in about a week after being cut down, or on the ap- 
pearance of severe weather, they should be dug up and 
packed in dry sand, and then stowed away in a dry place 
out of the reach of frost The temperature suited to keep 
greenhouse plants will preserve them in good order. Some 
people complain of the difficulty of keeping Dahlia roots 
through the winter. I am of opinion that they are often 
killed from being taken up before they are ripe, and then put 
in a confined damp place ; or are by some, perhaps, sub- 
jected to the other extreme, and dried to a husk. I keep 
mine on shelves in the greenhouse, and seldom lose one in 
a hundred. If it be an object with the cultivator to have the 
names perpetuated from year to year, each plant should 
have a small label affixed to the old stalk, by means of 
small brass or copper wire, as twine is very apt to get rotten. 
Cape Bulbs, and such tuberous roots as are cultivated in 
pots, on account of their tenderness, should be kept dry 
after the foliage is decayed, until within about a montn of 
their period of regerminating, at which time they should, after 
having been deprived of their surplus offsets, be repotted in 
good fresh earth. 

There are some descriptions of bulbous and tuberous 
roots that need not be taken up oftener than once in two or 
three years, and then only to deprive them of the young 
offsets, and to manure the ground. These will be described 
hereafter under their different heads. 

In the articles which follow, I have named the preferable 
season for planting the various kinds of bulbous and tuberous 
roots ; but as some bulbs will keep in good condition several 
months, there can be no objection to retaining such out of 
the ground, to suit any particular purpose or convenience 



160 
DIRECTIONS 

FOR THE 

CULTIVATION OF BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS-ROOTED 



PLANTS. 



AMARYLLISES. 

Op this genus of flowering' bulbs, there are about eighty 
species, and upwards of one hundred varieties ; they are 
natives of South America, and in Europe are generally 
kept in the hot-house ; some of. the varieties are hybrids, 
produced by cultivation ; these succeed very well in the 
greenhouse, and in this country we frequently have very 
perfect flowers in the borders. A few of the choicest 
varieties are as follows : 

Amaryllis Auliea, or Crowned Amaryllis, is one of the 
most beautiful ; it produces four flowers, about seven inches 
in diameter, on an erect stem, about two feet and a half 
high, with six petals of green, crimson, and fine transparent 
red colours. 

A. Ballota, produces three or four rich scarlet flowers 
on the stem, each about five inches in diameter ; there are 
two or three varieties of this species, all beautiful. 

A. Johnsoniensis. The stem of this variety rises about 
two feet, and exhibits four beautiful scarlet flowers, with a 
white streak in the centre of each petal, each flower about 
six inches diameter. It sometimes produces two stems. 

A. Longifolia, or Crinum Capense, is perfectly hardy ; it 
flowers in large umbels of a pink colour, inclining to white, 
and is a good garden variety. 

Amaryllis formosissima, or Jacobean Lily, produces a 
flower of great beauty ; although a low-priced plant, it 
throws out gracefully its glittering crimson-coloured petals, 
which have a brilliancy almost too intense for the eye to rest 
upon. 

The A. Lutea, produces its bright yellow flowers in 






ANEMONES AND RANUNCULUSES. 16 L 

October, in the open air ; but the bulb requires a little pro- 
tection in the winter, or it may perish. 

The most suitable soil for Amaryllises is a clean new 
earth, taken from under fresh grass sods, mixed with sand 
and leaf mould; 'the latter ingredient should form about a 
third of the whole, and the sand about a sixth. Some of the 
varieties may be planted in pots during the month of April, 
and others will do very well in the open ground, if planted 
early in May, in a sunny situation. The bulb should not 
be set more than half its depth in the ground ; as, if planted 
too deep, it will not bloom; the plant deriving its nourish- 
ment only from the fibres. When the bulbs have done 
flowering, such as are in pots should be watered very 
sparingly, so that they may be perfectly ripened, which will 
cause them to shoot stronger in the ensuing season, and 
those in the ground should be taken up, and preserved 
in sand or paper. 

ANEMONES AND RANUNCULUSES. 

These are medium, or half-hardy roots, producing beau- 
tiful little flowers of various hues, and are highly deserving 
of cultivation. The bulbs should be planted in a fresh, well 
pulverized, loamy soil, enriched with cow dung. If planted 
in the garden, the beds ought not to be raised above one inch 
higher than the alleys, and the surface should be level, as it 
is necessary, for the prosperity of these plants, rather to 
retain than to throw off" moisture. The plants will generally 
survive our winters ; but it is always safest to plant them in 
such a manner that a temporary frame of boards can be 
placed over them, when the weather sets in severe ; and if 
they are to be shaded while in flower, the posts intended for 
the awning may be fixed in the ground at the same time ; 
these will serve to nail the boards to, and thus answer two 
purposes. 

Anemones and Ranunculuses may be planted during 
October or November, in drills two inches deep, and six 
inches apart ; the roots should be placed claws downwards, 
about four inches distant from each other, and covered up, 

14* 



162 CROCUS, CROWN IMPERIAL, AND COLCHICUM. 

leaving the bed quite level. The awning need not to be 
erected over the beds until they come into flower, which will 
be early in May. 

CROCUSES. 

These are hardy little bulbs, said to be natives of 
Switzerland. There are in all about fifty varieties of this 
humble, yet beautiful little plant, embracing a great variety 
of hues and complexions, and their hardiness, and earliness 
in flower, offer a strong motive to their cultivation. The 
bulbs may be planted in October or November, in rows 
about six inches from the edgings ; if in beds, they may be 
placed in ranks of distinct colours, about four inches apart, 
and from one to two deep, which will afford to their admirers 
considerable amusement and gratification, and that at a 
very early season. They are generally in full perfection 
early in April. 

CROWN IMPERIAL. 

This is a species of the genus Fritillaria, of which there 
are about twenty species and varieties, chiefly natives of 
Persia. These squamose bulbs produce tall luxuriant stems, 
embellished with green glossy foliage, and flowers of various 
hues ; but there are only a few of the most curious cultivated, 
perhaps on account of their odour, which to some persons 
is disagreeable. They are, however, very hardy, and 
produce singular and showy flowers in April and May, 
suited to make a variety in the flower borders, in which they 
may be planted in August and September, from three to 
four inches deep ; they need not be taken up every year as 
other bulbs, and when they are, which may be about every 
third year, they ought not to be retained too long out of the 
ground before they are again planted. 

COLCHICUM. 

This curious little bulb, being planted in the month 
of June, about two inches deep, produces its flowers in 
October, it then dies, without leaving any external ap- 



CYCLAMEN AND DOUBLE DAHLIA. 163 

pearance of seeds ; they, however, lie buried in the bulb ah 
the winter, and in spring produce a stalk with seeds, which 
get ripe by the first of June, just in time to plant for flowering 
in the ensuing autumn. How wonderful are the provisions 
of nature I 

CYCLAMEN. 

There are several species of the Persian Cyclamen which 
are worthy of cultivation in pots ; the varieties, Coum and 
Persicum, will bloom in a greenhouse, or warm room, from 
January to April, if planted in a good light compost early 
in September. The foliage of these plants is of a dark 
green velvet colour ; and the flowers of the variety Coum 
are of a dark crimson colour ; those of the variety Persicum 
are of a delicate French white, tipped with pink, and their 
fragrance is similar to that of the wild rose. 

DOUBLE DAHLIA. 

This may with propriety be denominated one of the most 
important perennial tuberous-rooted plant that can be 
introduced into a garden, and from the circumstance of its 
having become so fashionable of late years, I have felt 
anxious to furnish in this work, a catalogue of all the 
choicest varieties known ; I therefore applied to Mr. G. C. 
Thorburn, who, from a regular correspondence with con- 
noisseurs, both in England and America, is acquainted 
with all the most beautiful and rare varieties. He has 
kindly furnished a list and description of about one hun- 
dred of the choicest, some of which are deemed extra-fine. 
My friend, Mr. Thomas Dunlap, has also furnished a list of 
native, as well as foreign varieties; and as he has, by ardent 
attention to the cultivation of Dahlias, obtained several 
premiums from the New- York Horticultural Society, I have 
great confidence in his choice. To these I have added 
about two hundred and fifty varieties, most of which I have 
had under cultivation in my own garden, and which may 
be justly denominated pre-eminent. 

In making this selection,, several superb varieties are 



164 DAHLIA CATALOGUE. 

omitted, not because they are undervalued, but for the sake 
of brevity, which in a work of this kind must be consulted. 
Those marked thus f are native American varieties. Those 
marked thus * obtained the greatest number of premiums 
at the various floricultural and horticultural exhibitions in 
Great Britain, as well as in our own country. There are, 
perhaps, a hundred more in this catalogue not far beneath 
them, but none are marked except those which won ten 
prizes and upwards. A few of the choicest seedlings of 
1835 and 6, and those which are rated in England at from 
a crown to a guinea each, are marked thus §. It may be 
necessary to observe, that many of our choice old varieties, 
as well as several of the new ones hereinafter described, 
have not been offered in competition at public exhibitions ; 
these are, therefore, not to be undervalued for want of the 
star or asterisk, and it is presumed that the brief description 
given of the different shades, will be sufficient to govern 
amateurs in their choice. 

As much depends on the soil and situation in which 
Dahlias are cultivated ; and as the descriptions which follow 
have been given by various persons, whose soils and situa- 
tions are different, the height of these plants may vary a 
foot or more from our estimate, when planted in one uni- 
form soil and situation. 



CATALOGUE OF DOUBLE DAHLIAS. 

Feet. 
§ Acme of Perfection, Harrises, white with crimson edge, one of 

the most perfect flowers known, cupped petals . . . 4 to 5 

* Adelaide, Vitch's, fine large ruby rose coloured . . . 3 to 4 

* Adeliza, Harrison's, blush white, form of Springfield rival . 4 to 5 
Admiral Napier, light, cupped petals . „ . 3 to 4 
Adonis, WidnaU's, beautiful scarlet, with cupped petals . 4 to 5 

* Agamemnon, WidnaU's, rich ruby crimson, cupped petals . 4 to 5 

* Agrippina, blush white, mottled with rose . . . 3 to 4 
Albion, Wells's, white, tinted with rosy lilac . . . 4 to 5 
Alba delineata, white, pencilled with purple . . . 3 to 4 
Alba grandiflora, superb white . . .. . 4 to 5 
Alba perfecta, extra fine white . . . . 3 to 4 



DAHLIA CATALOGUE. 165 

Feet. 

Alba purpureata, white, tipped with purple . . 4 to 5 

Albert, Hoi-man's, fine dark scarlet . . . . 3 to 4 

Alexander the Great, imperial purple . . . 5 to 6 

* Angelina, white, beautifully edged with lilac . . . 4 to 5 
Algernon Sidney, beautiful yellow and red . . . 4 to 5 
Alice Gray, mottled white and yellow . . » . 3 to 4 
Alpha, Simmons's, fine deep scarlet . . , 4 to 5 
§ Alphonso, white, tipped with rose . . . 4 to 5 
Amazon, large white . . . . . . 3 to 4 

Andromache, WidnalVs, beautiful straw colour » • 4 to 5 

Andromeda» white> mottled with crimson . . . 3 to 4 

* Apollo, WidnalVs, fine dark scarlet, with cupped petals . 4 to 5 

* Ariel, Inwood's, fine white, edged with lilac . . . 3 to 4 

* Augusta, Douglas's, beautiful mottled purple, large flower . 5 to & 
t Aurantia Floyii, beautiful large orange . .. . 5 to 6 

■ .' " fulgida, Harris's, beautiful orange and red . . 4 to 5 

— Matchima, extra large orange coloured flower . 5 to 6 

— — speciosisima, beautiful orange . . . . 4 to 5 

* Aurora, WidnalVs, fine scarlet orange, with cupped petals . 5 to 6 
Battle Rival, very fine yellow . . . . 4 to 5 
§ Beauty of Bath, Bartlett's, purple and cream striped . , 4 to 5 

of Burstead, shaded purple . . . 4 to 5 

§ of Camberwelh rosy lilac . . . 4 to 5 

* of Cambridge, brewer's, white tinted with purple . 4 to 5 

of Cheltenham, white, edged with lilac . .. 3 to 4 

of Dalston, primrose, tipped with purple . . 3 to 4 

5 of Perryhillj peach colour, with white centre . . 4 to 5 

t of Salem, white, tinted with rosy pink . . 4 to 5 

of Sheffield, Levick's,. white, edged with purple . 4 to 5 

of Stow, lilac and white . . . 3 to 4 

of Surrey, white, spotted and shaded with rose . 4 to 5 

* of Teflbnt, white,, edged with rose pink . . 3 to 4 

of the Vale, light scarlet . . . 3 to 4 

of Wickham, shaded rich claret . . . 5 to 6 

Belladonna, ruby purple and white . . . 4 to 5 

t Betsey< Buel fy Wilson's, clouded lilac and white . . 4 to 5 

Bishop of Winchester, scarlet ground, edged with dark crimson 4 to 5 

* Black Ajax, Young's, a large flower and good shape . . 3 to 4 
Black Dwarf, very dark puce .. . . . 2 to 3 

* Black Prince, WidnalVs, dark striped maroon . . 4 to 5 
§ Blue Beard) purple and pink, elegantly striped . . 3 to 4 

* Bride of Abvdos> Penny's, white, sometimes tinted with purple, 

form of the Countess of Liverpool . . . 3 to 4 

Bride, Harding's, extra fine white . . . 4 to 5 

British Queen, fine rose coloured . . . 3 to 4 

Bronze, Brown's, good shape . . . . . 4 to 5 

* Camellia flora, alba, Wells's, very perfect white . . 3 to 4 



166 



DAHLIA CATALOGUE. 



§ Canary, Bartletl>s, sulphur, edged with rosy purple 
Captain Ross, large buff, with red stripes 
Carlo Dolci, cream, tipt with purple 

* Carna, WidnalVs, fine bright purple . 
5 Cassandria, Welles, superb rose coloured 

* Cassalia, Wells's, white, tinged with lilac 
Cassina, rich crimson, cupped petals 
Cato, Harris's, fine straw, with pencilled edge . 

* Cedo nulli, Pothecary's, yellow, laced with pale red 
Celestial, Cox's, rich rosy blush . . , 
§ Chameleon, Young's, rosy lilac edged with purple 
§ Champion, Wells's, rose and white . 

Hadley's > fine yellow . , 

Chancellor, WidnalVs, dark crimsonish scarlet . 
Charon, Levick's, orange and red with dark shade 
Chelsea Fair, fine variegated lilac and white 
Cicero, fine ruby crimsun 
Claudiana, fine white, edged with rose . 

* Clara, Seaman's, very superb white . 
Cleopatra, Harrison's, beautiful lilac edged with purple 
Clio, Pratt's, buff, tipped with purple 
Clio, WidnalVs, rich ruby purple 
Clytus, fine primrose .... 
Coccinea Speciosissima, bright showy scarlet 

Superba, beautiful scarlet orange 

perfecta. brilliant scarlet . 

* Coelus, Widnalls', crimsonish scarlet . 
Compacta, Buchanan's, a perfect formed bright claret 

Young's, extra fine purple . 

Comus, WidnalVs, fine primrose yellow . 
§ Conchiflora, Young's, fine slate colour 

* Conqueror, Harris's, finest scarlet known . 

§ Conqueror of Sussex, beautiful carmine, well formed flower 
Constantia, Foster's, fine carmine crimson 

* Coronet, superb dark puce 
Countess of Cork, white, edged with purple 

— - — — of Errol, primrose and yellow . 

* — s-x — of Liverpool, most beautiful scarlet 
Cream, Brown's, fine formed flower 
Cremona, light primrose, excellent form 
§ Crimson triumphant, rich velvet crimson, cupped petals 

* Criterion, Douglas's, fine white, laced with lilac 
Cupid, Harris's, blush white, laced with pink . 
Cymbeline, Inwood's, superb lilac and white 
Darius, fine crimson, cupped petals 
Datchett Lass, Bates's, beautiful blush . 

* Dawson's Victory, extra fine dark 



DAHLIA CATALOGUE. 16^ 

Fett . 

* Defiance, Heals's, white, beautifully edged with rosy pink . 3 to 4 

* Delhia, extra fine dark coloured . . . . 3 to 4 
Dennisii coecinea, extra fine scarlet . . . 4 to 5 
Dennisii, extra fine ruby purple . . . . 5 to 6 
§ Desdemona, Bartlett's, white, beautifully edged with purple . 3 to 4 

* Desdemona, Brown's, white, la^ed with rose . . 3 to 4 
Desdemona, Harris's, \vhite laced with pink and purple . 4 to 5 
t Diadem, Dunlap's, fine scarlet ; . . . 4 to 5 
§ Diana Matilda, Dray's, pale yellow, tipped with purple . 4 to 5 
Diana, Widnall's, fine rose, cupped petals . . . 4 to 5 

* Dictator, Wells's, beautiful orange colour . . . 4 to 5 
Donna Maria de Gloria, Young's, bright rosy crimson , . 4 to 5 
§ Dromio, Davis's, bright crimson maroon . . . 3 to 4 

* Duchess of Bedford, WidnaWs, brilliant scarlet . ". 4 to 5 

ofHraganza, Young's, lilac with red margin . . 3 to 4 

* of Buccleugh, Cormack's, light sulphur laced with pink 4 to 5 

§ — of Montrose, Dray's, dark rose, centre of the petals gold 

striped, edged with dark crimson, petals cupped . . 4 to 5 

of Richmond, extra fine dark scarlet . . . 5 to 6 

§ of Sutherland, white, finely tipped with pink, flower large, 

well formed, and inferior to none . . . . 4 to 5 

* Duke of Bedford, dark chocolate or puce . . . 4 to 5 

of Devonshire, large white, tinted with pale pink . 4 to 5 

of Orleans, fine large cherry purple . »• . 5 to 6 

of Sussex, Harris's, white laced with pink . . 4 to 5 

of Sussex, Wells's, beautiful red . . . 5 to 6 

of Wellington, Girling' s, rosy lilac . . . 4 to 5 

Dwarf White, GarraWs, fine, cupped petals . . . 3 to 4 

Earl Grey, Lovely's, beautiful orange scarlet . . . 5 to 6 

Earl of Chichester, Young's, dark purple, striped with lilac . 3 to 4 

Elegance, Pothecary's, white and crimson . . . 3 to 4 

Elizabeth, Chubb's, white, tipped with red . . . 3 to 4 

Eloisa, fine blush, spotted and marbled with red . . . 3 to 4 

Elvira, Dennis's, beautiful lilac . , . . 3 to 4 

* Eminent, Brewer's, fine large scarlet . . . ; 4 to 5 
Emma, Richardson's, white, laced with rose . ; . 4 to 5 

* Emperor, Widnall's, beautiful striped crimson . . 4 to 5 
Emperor of the Yellows, Sully's, superb yellow . . . 5 to 6 

* Empress, Dennis's, yellow, with purple edge, cupped petals . 3 to 4 
Empress, Harris's, white, laced with pink . , . 3 to 4 
Enchanter, Widnall's, shaded buff and lilac . . . 3 to 4 

* Enchantress. Priestley's, cream, tipped with liiac . . 4 to 5 
Enchantress, Well's, white, tinged with lilac . • . 4 to 5 
Erecta, rich crimson, with black stripes . . . , 3 to 4 
Euphrosyne, shaded purple . . . . 3 to 4 

* Excelsa, Elphinstone's, beautiful yellow, good shape • , 3 to 4 
Exemplar* fine white, cupped petals . , . 4 to 5 



168 



DAHLIA CATALOGUE. 



Fair Devonia, white, beautifully tinged with lilac 
Fair Ellen, superb blush lilac 
Fair Flora, Harris's, white, tipped with purple . 
Fair Rosamond, white tipped with lilac . 
Fairy Queens Harrison's, white, good form 
Fanny Kemble, Seal's, white, tipped with rosy lilac 
Feronia, pure white, marbled with lilac . 
Fire King, beautiful scarlet, good habit . 

* Fisherton King, white, margined with crimson, cupped petals 

* Fisherton Rival, Squibb'$> fine rose, cupped petals 
Flora McDonald, Forsyth's, crimson, frequently striped 
§ Flora. Well's, blush white, spotted with crimson 

* Flora, white and lilac, cupped petals, extra fine 

Flora, Widnall's, fine quilled rose] 

* Forest Beauty, orange edged with red 
% Forester, bronze lilac with yellow centre . 
Fulgida Perfecta, superb large crimson . 
Fusca rubricota, fine dark crimson maroon 
Fulminans, Harris's, lemon coloured with red edge 
T General Harrison, Buel <fy Wilson's, fine scarlet 
Georgina, Welh's, exquisite yellow 
Globe crimson, Widnall's, large crimson ball flower 

carmine orange . 

mottled pink, extra fine 

> quilled scarlet, beautiful scarlet ball 

^ white, exquisite .... 

* Gloria Mundi, li^ht yellow, fine formed flower 
§ Gloriosa, Standisk's, rosy lilac, with cupped petals 

* Glory, Douglas's, excellent scarlet 

§ Glory of the West, Dray's, extra bright scarlet, cupped petals 
Glow-worm, Brown's, scarlet crimson, shaded . 
Golconda, Widnall's, beautiful mottled white and purple 
§ Gold-finder, Dray's, bright primrose, cupped petals . 
t Gold of Peru, Buel <fr Wilson's, golden yellow 
Grand Duke of Tuscany, very dark puce 
Grandis, very large, fine purple .... 
Grand Monarch, Brewer's, shaded light and dark purple 

* Grand Sultan, Heales's, pure white, with black stripes 

* Granta, Widnall's, fine claret coloured, with cupped petals 
§ Grant Thorburn, Young's, dark purple, shape of Springfield rival 
§ Grigby. light ground, edged with rosy purple . 
Guido, Harrison's, white, laced with rosy purple 
Gustavus, extra fine bright orange 
Hadleigh Champion, fine golden yellow 
§ Haide, Davis's, lilac bronze, with cupped petals 

* Hebe, WidnaU's, bright rose coloured, mottled 
Hector, Wells's, extra fine rose crimson . 



Feet. 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
3 to 4 
3 to 4 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 
3 to 4 

3 to 4 

5 to 6 

4 to 5 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 

5 to 6 
5 to 6 
3to4 
4 to 5 
5toe 
3 to 4 
3 to 4 
3 to 3 

3 to 4 
3te4 

4 to 5 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 
4 to 5 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 
4 to 5 
3 to 4 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 

4 to 5 

3 to 4 

5 to 6 

4 to 5 
4 to 5 
3 to 4 



DAHLIA CATALOGUE. 1(J9 

Feet. 

* Hermione, Wells's, fine blush white, purple tips . - 4 to 5 
Hero of Surrey, chocolate, tipped with white . . 4 to 5 

* Hero of Wiltshire, elegantly shaped scarlet, cupped petals . 3 to 4 
Highland Boy, Harrison's, red, edged with dark maroon . 4 to 5 
Holmbush Julia, Elphinstone's, white, tinted with purple . 5 to 6 
§ Hon. Mrs. Ashley, Dray's, peach, centre of petals yellow . 4 to 5 

* Hon. Mrs. Harris, white, shaded with carmine and purple . 4 lo 5 
Inapproachable, fine carmine crimson . . . 4 to 5 
Incomparable, Levick's, scarlet, sometimes tipped with white . 6 to 7 

* Incomparable, Whale's, choicest rosy scarlet, cupped petals . 3 to 4 
Indian Chief, Kearsley's, light crimson, dark centre . . 3 to 4 
t Indian Chief, Buel and Wilson's, large purple . . 4 to 5 
t Indian Glueen, Buel and Wils&n's, red and orange, striped . 4 to 5 

* Inimitable, Harris's, white, with purple edge . . . 4 to 5 
Invincible, Skate's, maroon, with crimson stripes . . 4 to 5 

* Invincible, Tarrant's, extra fine shaded salmon . . 3 to 4 

* Iris, WidnalVs, dark purple, beautifully striped . . 3 to 4 
Janissary, Penny's, compact yellow, tipped with crimson . 4 to 5 
Jason, WidnalVs, exquisite bright yellow . . . • 6 to 7 
§ Jealous Wife, yellow, with cupped petals . . . 4 to 5 
Julia, Wells's, white, edged with pink . . . . 3 to 4 

* Jupiter, extra fine scarlet, cupped petals . . . 3 to 4 

* Kearsley's Rival, fine purple, striped with white . . 3 to 4 

* King of the Dahlias, WidnalVs, white, edged with pink . 4 to 5 

* of the Fairies, Brown's yellow, edged with purple . 4 to 5 

§ Harold, Dray's, fine formed, lilac and white . . 4 to 5 

* Otho, extra fine ruby rose, or lake coloured, fine shape . 4 to 5 

§ of the Purples, Dray's, fine arid large, cupped petals . 4 to 5 

of the Roses, Harris's, fine rose, with cupped petals . 3 to 4 

* of the Scarlets, Hopwood's. very superb scarlet . . 4 to 5 

* of the Whites, pure white • . - . . 4 to 5 

of the Yellows, Cutbush's, delicate yellow . , 5 to 6 

t ■ Dunlap's, pure yellow . , , 5 to 6 

t Hyslop's, sulphur yellow , i 5 to 6 

Lady Anne Coke, Widnall'st white, laced with purple . 3 to 4 

Lady Ann, Hopwood's, white beautifully tinged with lilac . 3 to 4 

Lady Craven, buffi margined with pink . . . . 4 to 5 

Lady Dundas, crimson and purple stripes . . . 4 to 5 

* Lady Fordwich, French white, tipped with lilac . . 4 to 5 
Lady Grenville, Gordon's, beautiful rose coloured . . 5 to 6 
Lady Grey, beautiful mottled rooe . . . 4 to 5 

* Lady Harrington, extra fine lilac . . 4 to 5 

* Lady Knox, Harris's, white, tipped with maroon, perfect shape 3 to 4 
Lady Northampton, white tinted with purple . . . 4 to 5 
Lady Rippon, Douglas's, white, tinted with lilac . .- 4 to 5 
§ Lady Sugden, Young's, bright scarlet tinged with orange . 3 to 4 

* Lady of the Lake, Wells's, white tinted with rosy purple . 4 to 5 

15 



170 



DAHLIA CATALOGUE. 



Feet. 

Lasting Rose, beautiful rose coloured . . . 4 to 5 

Lass of Mount Ephraim, Bennett's* fine dark, good form . 4 to 5 

Laura, Veitch's, mottled white and purple . . . 4 to 5 

* Leopold the firsts maroon, striped with purple . . . 3 to 4 

* Lilac Perfection, Harding's, the best of its class . . 3 to 4 
t Linnaeus. Buel and Wilson's, beautiful rose . . . 4 to 5 
1 Lord Ashley, Dray's, fine dark, good shape . . . 3 to 4 

* Lord Bath, Wheeler's, large crimson purple . . . 4 to 5 
Lord Brougham, dark velvet crimson maroon . . . 6 to 7 
Lord Byron, extra fine ruby • . . . 4 to 5 
§ Lord Cottenham, Young's, rich crimson, compact flower . 3 to 4 

* Lord Derby, Widnall's, superb dark puce . . . 5 to 6 
Lord John Russell, bright scarlet ball . . • 5 to 6 

* Lord Liverpool, rich dark claret , • • . 5 to 6 
Lord Lyndhurst, Forsyth's, light scarlet, cupped petals . . 4 to 5 

* Lord Nelson, Pothecary's, white, with lilac edge . . 3 to 4 
Lord Nelson, fine dark purple, compact flower . . . 4 to 5 

* Lord Milton, Levick's, beautiful orange coloured . . 5 to 6 
Lovely Anne, fine French white . . . 4 to 5 

* Lullinstone Beauty, crimson and purple, fine shape . . 3 to 4 
Luminary, Harris's, pale yellow and purple . . . 3 to 4 
Lutea fimbriata, Veitch's, primrose, edged with yellow . . 3 to 4 
Lutea perfecta, delicate yellow . . . . 3 to 4 
Lutea purpurea, yellow, edged with purple . . . 3 to 4 
t Madam Delavan, Buel and Wilson's, deep rose-coloured . 4 to 5 
Magna, Wells's, orange and red . . . . 3 to 4 
Magnum Bonum, Widnall's, dark crimson puce . . 5 to 6 
Maid of Athens Wells's, yellow tinted with purple > . 3 to 4 
S Maid of Honour, Dray's, yellow tipped with brown, cupped petals 4 to 5 

* Maid of St. Leonard's, beautiful buff-coloured . . 4 to 5 
Magnificent, Chandler's, rosy blush . . . 4 to 5 
Man of Kent, beautiful rich purple . . . 5 to 6 

* Marchioness of Abercorn, superb blush pink . . . 4 to 5 

* Marchioness of Bath, white, edged with lilac, good bloomer . 2 to 3 
Marchioness of Lothian, deep rosy crimson . . . 4 to 5 

* Marpessa, Wells's, white, variously tinted with pink . . 3 to 4 
Marquis of Abercorn, superb ("ark crimson . . . 4 to 5 

* Mary Queen of Scots, white, edged and spotted with rosy 

purple, form of Springfield rival . . . 4 to 5 

Matchless, Oroombridge's, extra large purple . . . 5 to 6 

Matchless, Harris's, yellow, tinted with light red . . 3 to 4 

§ Matchless Crimson, Whale's, large flower » cupped petals . 4 to 5 

Matilda, Cox's, white, laced with rosy lilac . . . 4 to 5 

Mazeppa, Harrison's, sulphur, tipped with white . . 3 to 4 

* Medora, most splendid lilac . . . . 4 to 5 
Medusa, Wells's, white, edged with pink . . . 3 to 4 

* Mentor, Dennis's, crimson maroon, fine shape. . . 4 to 5 



DAHLIA CATALOGUE. 

Metropolitan Blush, Elphinstone's, fine blush lilac 

* Metropolitan Calypso, splendid rosy blush white? 
Metropolitan Queen, white, mottled with purple 
+ Metropolitan Perfection, Elphinstone's, beautiful dark velvety 

crimson, best of the dark varieties . 
Mexicanus, very dark, fine form, cupped petals 
Midas, Brown's, sulphur, tinged with red 
Minerva, Harris's, white, laced with rose 
Miss Cooper, Bennett's, fine rosy lilac - 
Miss Cust, large rosy purple - 
§ Miss Gee, Dray's, fine shaped rosy lilac 
§ Miss Helen Kemble, white, shaded with pink 
§ Miss Penfold, clear white, tipped with purple - 
Miss Wortley, lilac and buff - - 

Mrs. General Grosvenor, white, laced with rose - 
Mrs. Merriman, Skillman's, white margined with pink 

* Mrs. Wilkinson, extra fine blush white 
Mogul, Hall's, very dark maroon 
Mozart, Levick's, fine dark crimson puce 
Musidora, salmon coloured - 
Mutabilis, Bates's, large shaded purple - 

* Napoleon, Smith's, fine puce, excellent form . 
Negress* Foster's, fine dark puce 
Negro Boy, very dark 
JSe Plus Ultra» beautiful bright lilac purple 
Neptune, WidnaWs, exquisite lilac, very large flower 
Nerva, white, with deep purple nerves . 

* Newick Rival, ManteWs, beautiful rosy crimson 
Nimrod, extra fine crimson 

* Niobe, fine rosy white . 
Nonpareil, WidnaWs, very compact pink flower 

t Nun, Floy's, very dark maroon 

Oberon, lnwood's, yellow with scarlet margin . 

Oculis Solis, fine scarlet) with cupped petals 

t Oneida Chief, Buel fy Wilson's, elegant rose-coloured 

* Orange Perfection fine shape, cupped petals . 

* Orb, Harris's, white, with dark tip, extra fine shape 
Othello, WidnaWs, extra dark purple puce 
Pactolus, WidnaWs, extra fine yellow . 
Palmyra, Hall's, beautiful plum colour . 

* Paragon, WidnaWs, most beautiful lilac 
Paragon, Wells's, yellow tinged with pink, cupped petals 

* Paris, WidnaWs i exquisite purple . , 

* Paper White, very pure white 
Pavonia, delicate straw coloured 

* Pencilled White, white, pencilled with purple 
Penelope* WeUss. Dnmrose ana white* edged with yellow 



Feet. 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


5 to 6 


3 to 4 


3 to 4 


4 to 5 


3 to 4 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


3 to 4 


4 to 5 


3 to 4 


3 to 4 


4 to 5 


5 to 6 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


3 to 4 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


3 to 4 


4 to 5 


3 to 4 


3 to 4 


4 to 5 


2 to 3 


3 to 4 


5 to 6 


3to.4 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


5 to 6 


4 to 5 


3 to 4 


4 to 5 


4 to 5 


5to6 


3 to 4 


4to5 



172 DAHLIA CATALOGUE* 

Feet. 
§ Paeonia flora, Bartlett's, dark crimson, with black stripes . 3 to 4 

* Perfecta, Colvell's, extra fine dark shaded purple . . 5 to 6 
Perfection, Holman's, fine blush white . . . 3 to 4 

* Squibb'. f, light rosy violet, cupped petals, well formed 3 to 4 

. . Wells's, blush white, changing to pink . . 4 to 5 

* . Widnall's, beautiful rosy crimson, cupped . . 4 to 5 

Peerless Orange, Brewer's, beautiful scarlet orange . 4 to 5 

Perronia, light crimson, shaded with maroon . . . 4 to 5 

Phyllis, Widnall's, fine rosy lilac, with cupped petals . . 3 to 4 

Picta, beautiful orange and red . . . . . 4 to 5 

§ Picta, Elphinstone's, fine ruby, often tipped with bronze . 4 to 5 
Picta formosissima, fine scarlet, striped with orange , . 5 to 7 

§ Picta perfecta, Harrison's, very bright crimson, edged with dark 

maroon, cupped petals 

* Pindarus, Wells's, yellow, tipped with red 
t Pioneer, Arnold's, shaded purple, cupped petals 

* Pizarro, Widnall's, plum colour, with cupped petals 
Plutus, beautiful rosy crimson . * 
Polyphemus, Wells's, dark shaded 

* Elphinstone's, primrose, shaded yellow 



President, fine dark, cupped petals 

t Frimeana, Hislop's, beautiful yellow and red, mottled 

* Princess Victoria, rose pink, beautifully edged with dark red 

* Prince of Orange, Widnall's, beautiful scarlet orange 
Proserpine, fine sulphur ..... 
t Purple Seedling, Dunlap's, extra large purple 

* Purpurea elata, beautiful rich purple . 

* Purpurea perfecta, Brewer's, fine bright purple 

* Queen Adelaide, Bennett's, beautiful buff 

Bess, glittering scarlet .... 

* -, — Elizabeth, Brown's, mottled purple, an excellent show 

* Henrietta, most beautiful rose . 

of Belgium, white, mixed and tipped with purple . 4 to 5 

* of Dahlias, white, edged with rosy lilac . . . 3 to 4 

of Roses, Widnall's, fine rose coloured . ,. . 4 to 5 

* i — ofSheba, Wells's, fine deep yellow . . , 4 to 5 

of Upway, Harris's, white, tinged with lilac , . 3 to 4 

* of Whites, Dennis's, extra fine snow white . . 5 to 6 

* Quilled Perfection, Brown's, purple, of most perfect form, and a 

constant bloomer . , . , 3 to 4 

Radians, straw-coloured, tipped with lilac . , . 3 to 4 

Rainbow, Pothecary's, white, edged with crimson . . 4 to 5 

Readii, beautiful pink and white mottled . . . 3 to 4 

* Red Rover, Bates's, dark scarlet, fine form . . . -4 to 5 

Regulator, Harrison's, fine dark crimson, cupped petals . 4 to 5 

Remus, Widnall's, light scarlet, with cupped petals . . 4 to 5 

Rising Sun, Widnall's, extra fine scarlet . . . 6 to 7 



4 to 5 

5 to 6 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
3 to 4 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 
3 to 4 

5 to 6 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 
flower 3 to 4 

4 to 5 



DAHLIA CATALOGUE. 173 

Feet. 

* Rival King, Brewer's, white, laced with pink, cupped petals 3 to 4 
§ Rival Perfection, Dray's, yellow, edged with purple, cupped petals 4 to 5 
Rival Yellow, Harding'*, extra fine • . . 3 to 4 
Robert Burns, Forsythe's, extra fine dark amaranth . . 5 to 6 
t Robert Burns, Buel and Wilson's, fine crimson scarlet . 4 to 5 
Rob Roy, Widnall's, compact rosy crimson . .. . 4 to 5 

t , Buel and Wilson's, orange scarlet . . . 4 to 5 

Roi de Pourpre, Harrison's, fine purple, extra good form : 4 to 5 

Rosa Matilda, Girling's, shaded rose . . . . 3 to 4 

RosaMundi, Widnall's, beautiful rose-coloured . . 4 to 5 

* Rosalind, Wheeler's, fine rosy crimson . . . 3 to 4 
Rosea, Whales' s, extra fine rose pink, good shape . . 3 to 4 
Rose of Abinger, extra fine . . • . 3 to 4 
Rose de Amour, Brewer's, fine rose, tipped with white . 5 to 6 
Rosina, exquisite blush pink . . . . 3 to 4 
Roscoe, superb scarlet, always double ■ . , 4 to 5 
*_§ Royal Adelaide, or Gem, Brown's, white, beautifully margined 

with rose pink ; a free bloomer . . . 3 to 4 

» Royal Adelaide, Clarke's, mottled rose and buff - . . 4 to 5 

* Royal Lilac, superb lilac, extra large . . . 4 to 5 
Royal Purple, new, and exquisitely fine . .'•'', 4 to 5 
Salamander, Widnall's, extra large scarlet . • . 5 to 6 
§ Salt Hill Rival, or Colossus, Brown s, large dark crimson . 5 to 6 

* Salmonii, Widnall's, fine salmon coloured . . « 4 to 5 
Sarah, Brown's, nankeen colour, beautifully quilled . . 4 to 5 

* Scarlet Perfection, Brewer's, bright scarlet, cupped petals 5 to 6 

* Shannon, Levick's, beautiful large crimson . . . 5 to £ 

* Sir Robert Peel, extra fine buff . . . . 4 to 5 

* Sir Walter Scott, Harrison's, fine crimson, formed similar to the 

Countess of Liverpool, a profuse bloomer . . . 4 to 5 

Sir Walter Scott, Clarke's, bright crimson ruby . . 5 to 6 

Solomon, Wells's, large bright yellow . . . 4 to 5 

* Springfield Rival, Inwaod's, beautiful rose crimson, cupped petals 5 to 6 
Squibb*s Pure Yellow, fine yellow . . . 5 to 4 

* Standard, Wells's, fine primrose, tipped with crimson • 3 to 4 
§ Star, Brown's, extra fine scarlet . . , 5 to 6 
Stephania, superb, crimson maroon . . • 3 to 4 
Sulphurea elegans, Jones's, fine pale yellow . . . 4 to 5 

* perfectissima, exquisite yellow . . . 4 to 5 

1 majesta, Brewer's, delicate yellow . - . 4 to 5 

Sulphur, Brown's, superb yellow • . . 4 to 5 

* Surpass Triumph Royal, beautiful scarlet ruby . . 5 to 6 

* Surpass Polyphemus, primrose, tipped with purple . . 3 to 4 
Susannah, Barrett's, fine crimson cupped petals , • 4 te 5 

* Sy lvesta, Wells's, pencilled white . . . 5 to 6 
Touchstone, Fisher's, dark crimson stripe . , - v 3 to 4 
§ Triumph Blandina, beautiful shaped white t . . 4 to 5 

15* 



174 



DOUBLE DAHLIA. 



Unique, Barrett's , fine sulphur, cupped petals . 

* Urania, white, edged with pink and well formed 

* Vandyke, Douglas's, rose, yellow and purple, finely shaded 
Vandyke, Young's, superb bright pink 

* Venosa, Wheeler's, blush with crimson edge 

* Venus, Widnall's, fine blush, beautifully edged and mottled 

* Vesta, Widnatt's, beautiful shaped orange 
§ Vesta, Hopwood's, extra large white, 

* Village Maid, white, beautifully edged with lilac 

* Viscountess of Beresford, chocolate and puce, tipped with wh 

* Vulcan, Harris's, yellow, with fiery edge 
t Walter Scott, Buel <$• Wilson's, crimson striped 

* Warminster Rival, Wheeler's, light purple, cupped petals 
T Washington Irving, Buel <f- Wilson's, fine scarlet 

* Water Witch, cream, tipped with purple 
Waterloo, Harrison's., fine crimson scarlet, cupped petals 
Wellington, Bartlett's, scarlet, with dark stripes 
Wilberforce, Harris's, orange, tipped with red 
Wilberforce, Levick's, fine purple, shaded with crimson 

* William the Fourth, Bennet's, extra fine scarlet 
T Yemassee, Arnold's, exquisitely fine, crimson maroon 
§ Y/eatmananum, Harris's, amber, with scarlet edge 

* Yellow Perfection, Stone's, extra fine yellow 
§ Yellow Perfection, Harris's, shape of Springfield Rival 
York and Lancaster, beautiful rose and pink 

* Zarah, white and pink, cupped petals 

* Zebra, beautiful orange, with red stripes 



te 



Feet. 

4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 

4 to 5 

3 to 4 

5 to 6 

4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 

4 to 4 

5 to 6 
4 to 5 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 
4 to 5 

3 to 4 

4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 
4 to 5 



As the preceding catalogue contains a great proportion of 
the choicest varieties of Dahlias known, it is presumed that 
some will be new to us for years to come, because several 
of those marked thus § are not sufficiently plentiful to be 
obtained this season at any price. 

As some amateurs are apt to fancy, that the most econo- 
mical method of obtaining a supply of Dahlias in their 
gardens, is to raise them from seed, it may be necessary to 
remind such, that the trouble and expense of raising any 
quantity of seedlings, is equal to that attending the cultiva- 
tion of the same number of the choicest varieties; and 
when it is considered that the greatest proportion of a plan- 
tation may be single, and semi-double, and that but few 
double-flowering plants can be expected, equal to those 
above described, it must appear evident that it is the inte- 



DOUBLE DAHLU* 175 

rest of such persons as desire to have their gardens unin- 
cumbered with plants that are not calculated to ornament 
the same, to procure plants or roots of such varieties as 
have been tested, and highly recommended, as is the case 
with all those described in the preceding catalogue, and 
also those which are generally sold by the regular florists. 
But as I am writing for young gardeners, it may be neees- 
sary to state, that although new varieties are usually raised 
from seed of the finest double flowers* some successful pro- 
pagators prefer that procured from semi-double varieties. 
Sow seed towards the end of February, or early in March, 
in pots, and plunge them in a moderate hot-bed, or seed 
may be deposited in the earth of the beds in shallow drills, 
and the beds attended to as directed in the calendar for 
February and March. 

Nothing is more simple than the cultivation of Dahlia 
roots. In March or April, they will, if properly kept through 
the winter, begin to sprout around the old stems, and 
tubers. To forward these sprouts in growth, the roots should 
be either buried in light earth, on the top of a moderate hot- 
bed, or else potted, and then set in a warm room, or green 
house, and watered. As soon as the shoots have grown to 
the length of two or three inches, the roots may be divided 
in such a manner as to have a good strong shoot attached 
to a piece of the tuber, or old stem ; each of these will, if 
properly managed, make a plant.* Those who may com- 
mence cultivating at an early season, should put the plants 
thus separated into small pots, and keep them in a growing 
state until about the middle of May, at which time they may 
be turned out of the pots with the balls of earth entire, and 
planted in the open borders, from three to four feet from each 
other. Let the ground be well pulverized, and enriched 
with good old manure, before the plants are set out. If the 



* In order to obtain an extra number of plants from any choice varieties, 
cuttings are frequently taken from the shoots, when about three inches in 
length, which a^e planted in nursery pots.aod cultivated in hot-beds ; these 
require to be shaded from the sun, by mats, for the first fortnight, after 
which they may be gradually inured to the air, and treated as plants raised 
in the ordinary way. 



176 DOUBLE DAHLIA. 

top soil be shallow, and the subsoil inferior, it would be 
beneficial to the plants, if holes be dug to the depth of from 
a foot to eighteen inches, and then replenished with good 
rich compost, consisting of two-thirds fresh loam, and one 
third of well-rotted manure. 

Many cultivators have found late planting to suit better 
than early, and I myself had more perfect flowers last year, 
from plants set out about the middle of June, than from 
those planted in May : this is easily accounted for. In July 
and August the weather was remarkably hot, which brought 
the forwardest plants into bud at an early season, and 
in consequence of a continuation of hot dry weather, such 
buds failed to produce perfect flowers ; whereas those plants 
which were set out late, kept growing through the hot 
weather, and produced their buds just in time to receive all 
the benefit of the autumnal rains. From a consideration of 
these facts, I think early in June the safest time to set out 
Dahlia plants; and if those persons who have no conve- 
nience of forcing their roots, set them out in May, in 
ground prepared as before directed, they will generally suc- 
ceed very well, provided they take care to cover them in case 
of a cold change of weather. The roots may be thus cul- 
tivated entire, as is frequently done ; but if it be desired to 
have them parted, this business can be easily accomplished 
without disturbing the roots, and the offsets may be planted 
in the ground separately, or potted. 

After the plants have grown about two or three feet high, 
it will be necessary to provide for their preservation through 
the varied changes of the season, or a sudden gust of wind 
may destroy the expectations of a year. The branches of 
the Dahlia are extremely brittle, and, therefore, a good 
stout pole, or neat stake, should be driven down near each 
root, of a suitable height, so that the branches as they 
progress in growth, may be tied thereto at every joint, which 
may be done with shreds of matting or twine. If the poles 
be in readiness, they are much more easily fixed at the time 
of planting the Dahlias than afterwards ; but it may be done 
at any time after the ground has been softened by rain, 
provided it be not delayed too long, so as to subject the 



GLADIOLUS, OR SWORD LILY. 1?7 

plants to risk. Sometimes a few forward buds of the 
Dahlias will exhibit their premature beauties to the beams 
of a July and August sun ; but their lustre is quickly dimmed. 
The latter end of September, sometimes all October, and 
part of November, witness the Dahlia in all its glory ; and 
dwarf plants, cultivated in pots, will sometimes blossom at 
Christmas. 

GLADIOLUS, CORN FLAG, OR SWORD LILY. 

Of this genus of bulbs there are about fifty species, natives 
of the Cape of Good Hope. They produce flowers of 
various colours, in August and September, and are well 
worthy the attention of those who cultivate tender exotic 
plants. They may be planted in September or October, 
about an inch deep in pots, which must be kept in a green- 
house or light room, and watered sparingly until they begin 
to grow. The following are known to be superb species 
and varieties : 

G. alatus, or Wing-Flowered, producing bright orange 
coloured flowers. 

G. blandus produces flowers of a beautiful blush rose 
colour. 

G. Byzantinus, or Turkish Flag, has large delicate 
purple flowers. 

G. cardinalis. This variety produces very large flowers 
of superb scarlet, spotted with white. 

G. Jloribundus, or cluster flower, produces large flowers, 
of white and pink colour. 

The Gladiolus Natalejisis, or JPsitacinna, is perhaps the 
most desirable to cultivate of all others. It blossoms freely, 
and the colours are exquisitely beautiful. In its progress of 
blooming, it exhibits variable colours, as vermilion, red, 
yellow, green, white, crimson, &c, which brighten, as 
the flower arrives at perfection, to the brilliancy of a rain- 
bow. Another good quality displays itself in the bulb, 
which, if properly managed, will yield an abundance of 
offsets ; these being cultivated, will flower the third year in 
perfection, and thus continue to multiply perpetually* 



178 HYACINTH. 

I have named September and October as the season for 
planting, because it is considered the preferable season for 
most bulbs ; but if these be preserved in good condition 
through the winter until early in April, and then planted in 
a soil consisting of about one half fresh loam, equal parts 
of leaf mould, and sand well mixed, they may be forwarded 
in a warm room, green-house, or moderate hot-bed, until 
settled warm weather, and then turned out of the pots into 
a border, where they can be shaded from the sun at 
noonday; this will induce each of them to throw up three 
or four stems from three to four feet high, each stem pro- 
ducing five or six gorgeous blossoms, in great perfection. 
Those planted in the fall or winter, may also be turned out 
of the pots in June ; and, from the fibres having taken 
substantial root in the soil before transplanting, such plants 
may be taken up again in August, or early in September ; 
and on being planted in large pots, they may be removed, 
so as to perfect their bloom, within view of the parlour or 
sitting-room, which will afford considerable amusement and 
gratification. 

HYACINTH. 

" Hail to thee ! hail, thou lovely flower ! 
Still shed around thy sweet perfume, 
Still smile amid the Wintry hour, 
And boast e'en then a Spring-tide bloom. 
Thus hope, 'mid life's severest days, 
Still smiles, still triumphs o'er despair ; 
Alike she lives in pleasure's rays> 
And cold affliction's Winter air." 

There are, as has been already stated, about thirteen 
hundred varieties of this family of plants, comprising all the 
various hues, as white, pink, red, yellow, blue, purple, 
crimson, &c. and some of those with various coloured eyes. 
They begin to produce their flowers in the open borders 
early in April, on short erect stems covered with florets or 
small bells ; each floret is well filled with petals rising 
towards the centre, and is suspended from the stem by short 
o+ '-ong footstalks, the longest at the bottom, and the uppermost 



IRIS, OR FLOWER DE LUCE. 1/9 

florets stand so erect as to form a pyramid. A plantation, 
or a bed of these, have a very beautiful appearance, provided 
they are well attended to. In planting them, which should 
be in the months of October or November, care should be 
taken to have the colours so diversified as to suit the fancy ; 
they may be placed in short rows across the bed, about eight 
inches apart, and from three to four inches deep, measuring 
from the top of the bulb, and covered up at the setting in of 
winter, as before recommended for bulbs in general. Those 
who may have a fine collection, should have an awning 
erected in the spring, to screen them from the chilling blast, 
and also from drenching rains and the noonday sun ; and 
they should be looked over as soon as they make their 
appearance above ground, to see if they are all perfect and 
regular ; if any faulty or inferior ones should appear to have 
been planted in a conspicuous part of the bed, by accident 
or mistake, they can be taken out, and by shortening 
the rows, others may be substituted with a trowel. When 
all are regulated, look over them frequently, and as the 
stems shoot up, tie them to wires, or small rods, with shreds 
of bass matting or thread, being careful not to injure 
the florets. In about six weeks after they have done flower- 
ing, they may be taken up, and managed as recommended 
for bulbs in general, in a former page. 



IRIS, OR FLOWER DE LUCE. 

There are two distinct species of plants cultivated under 
the name of Flower de Luce, each consisting of several 
varieties. The bulbous species and varieties are designated 
as English, Spanish, Chalcedonian, and American. These, 
if introduced into the flower borders, and intermixed with 
perennial plants of variable colours, have a very pretty 
appearance when planted in clumps or patches. This may 
be done in the month of October, by taking out a spadeful 
of earth from each place allotted for a plant, and then 
inserting three or four bulbs, about two inches deep. If the 
ground be poor, some rich compost may be dug in around 



180 1XIAS JONQUILS — LACHENALlAS. 

the spot before the bulbs are planted, and if several sorts be 
planted in the same border, let them be of various colours. 
The tuberous-rooted are of various colours, as blue, 
yellow, brown, and spotted ; they are easily cultivated, and 
flower freely in a loose soil inclining to moisture, if planted 
in March or April. 

IXIAS. 

These are tender, but very free-flowering bulbs, producing 
on their stems, which vary in height from six inches to two 
feet, very delicate flowers of various colours, as orange, 
blush, white, purple, green, crimson, scarlet, and some have 
two and three colours connected in the same plant. 

There are, in all, upwards of twenty species, which may 
be cultivated in the green-house, by planting the bulbs 
in pots in September or October, and placing them near 
the light, and then watering them sparingly until they 
begin to shoot. 

jonquils. 

This is a hardy race of bulbs, and produces very delicate 
yellow flowers early in May. There are different varieties, 
some of which are single-flowering and others double. 
Their fragrance is very grateful, being similar to that of 
Jasmines. The bulbs may be planted about two inches 
deep in the flower borders, or in pots, in October, or before 
the setting in of winter ; they flower better the second year 
than in the first, and, therefore, should not be moved and 
replanted oftener than once in three years. 

LACHENALIAS. 

These are tender little bulbs, natives of the Cape of Good 
Hope. There are supposed to be in all about forty species 
and varieties. Those most cultivated with us, are the 
Lachenalia quadri-colour, and the tri-coloured, which are 
very beautiful when in full bloom, exhibiting flowers of 



LILIES. 



181 



various colours on a stem of from six inches to a foot in 
height, and much in the character of Hyacinths. The 
colours which are yellow, scarlet, orange, green, &c, are 
very pure and distinct. L. nervosa, L. orchoides, L. punc- 
tata, and L. rubida, are all excellent species, and worthy of 
cultivation. They may be planted from one to two inches 
deep, in small pots, in the month of August and September, 
and watered but sparingly until they begin to grow. 

LILIESv 

There are several plants under this name, of different 
genera, some of which are indigenous. The Canada Lily, 
with yellow spotted drooping flowers, may be seen in wet 
meadows towards the last of June, and early in July. The 
Philadelphia Lily blooms also in July ; its flowers are red. 
There are some pure white, and others yellow, growing in 
various parts of the country. Among the foreign genera 
are several species. Of the Martagon, or Turk's-cap Lilies, 
there are some beautiful varieties ; as the Caligula, which 
produces scarlet flowers ; and there is one called the Crown 
of Tunis, of purple colour ; besides these, are the Double 
Violet Flamed, the White, the Orange, and the Spotted ; 
these are all hardy, and may be planted in various parts of 
the garden, by taking out a square foot of earth, and then, 
after manuring and pulverizing it, the bulbs may be planted 
therein before the setting in of winter, at different depths, 
from two to four inches, according to the size of the bulbs. 
Some of the Chinese varieties are very beautiful, as the 
Tiger, or Leopard Lily, and the dwarf red Lilium con 
colour. There are others with elegant silver stripes, which 
are very showy, and there is one called Liliiim superbum, 
that has been known to have had twenty-five flowers on a 
stalk. Besides those above enumerated, there are some 
others which are generally cultivated in greenhouses, as the 
Calla, or Ethiopian Lily; and the following which have 
been known to endure our winters, by protecting them with 
dung, &c. Lilium longiflorum, in two varieties ; these pro- 
duce on their s;alks, which grow from twelve to eighteen 

16 



282 NARCISSUS?. 

inches high, beautiful rose-coloured flowers, streaked witfo 
■white, which are very sweet-scented. These roots are 
sometimes kept out of the ground until spring, and then 
planted in the flower borders, but they should be preserved 
carefully in sand, or dry mould. Lilium Japonicum. Of 
these there are two varieties, which produce several stalks at 
once, yielding very showy flowers. One of the varieties is 
blue flowered, and the other produces flowers of the purest 
white. 

NARCISSUS. 

The species and varieties of this plant are numerous* 
The Incomparable is perfectly hardy, and produces its 
flowers in April, which are called by some pasche, or paus 
flowers, by others, butter and eggs ; perhaps because their 
bright yellow petals are surrounded with large white ones. 
Some persons dislike the smell of these, and it is said that 
the odour has a pernicious effect upon the nerves ; but the 
white fragrant double, as well as all the Roman and Poly- 
anthus Narcissus, are free from this objection, being of a 
very grateful and agreeable smell. Some of these are justly 
held in great esteem for their earliness, as well as for their 
varied colours. The Grand Monarque de France, the Belle 
Legoise, and some others, have white flowers with yellow 
cups. The Glorieux has a yellow ground, with orange- 
coloured cups ; besides these are some white and citron- 
coloured, ^as the Luna, and others entirely white, as the 
Kein Blanche, and Morgenster. All these varieties are very 
suitable either for the parlour or greenhouse, and may be 
planted in pots, from October to December, from two to three 
inches deep. The double Roman Narcissus are very sweet- 
scented ; if these be planted in pots, or put into bulb glasses 
in the month of October, they will flower in January and 
February. 

Polyanthus Narcissus are more delicate than Hyacinths 
or Tulips ; when they are planted in the open border, they 
should be covered about four inches with earth, and before 
the setting in of winter, it is advisable to cover the beds 



ORNITH0GALUM AND OXALIS. 18$ 

with straw, leaves, *or litter, to the depth of six or seven 
inches, and to uncover them about the middle of March. 

ORNITHOGALUM, OR STAR OF BETHLEHEM. 

There are about fifty varieties of these bulbs, natives of 
the Cape of Good Hope, some of which are from three to 
five inches in diameter, and shaped similar to a pear ; 
others are much like Hyacinth bulbs. — Among those culti- 
vated in America are the O. lacteum and the O. aureum ; 
the former produces fine white flowers, and the spike is 
about a foot in length ; the latter produces flowers of a 
golden colour, in contracted racemose corymbs. The 
O. maritimum, or Sea Squill, is curious ; from the centre of 
the root arise several shining glaucous leaves, a foot long, 
two inches broad at the base, and narrowing to a point. If 
kept in a greenhouse, these are green during winter, and 
decay in the spring: then the flower-stalk comes up rising 
two feet, naked half way, and terminated by a pyramidal 
thyrse of white flowers. These bulbs are generally culti- 
vated in the greenhouse, and require a compost consisting of 
about one-half fresh loam, one-third leaf mould, and the 
remainder sand, in which'they may be planted in September. 
When cultivated in the garden, they should be planted four 
or five inches deep, and protected with dung, &c. They 
produce their flowers early in June. 

oxalis. 

The Oxalis is a native of the Cape of Good Hope ; the 
species are numerous, and their roots are very small bulbs, 
articulated, jointed, or granulated, in a manner peculiar 
to this genus. They produee curious flowers of various 
hues, yellow, purple, rose, red, white, striped, vermilion 
colour, &c. The bulbs should be planted in very small_ 
pots in August and September, in a compost, consisting of 
about two-thirds loam, and one-third leaf or light mould, 
and treated in the same manner as other Cape Bulbs. 
They increase in a peculiar manner, by the parent bulb 
striking a fibre down from its base, at the extremity of which 



184 PiEONY. 

is produced a new bulb for the next year's plant, the old 
one perishing. These plants will flower freely in a green- 
house. 

PiEONY. 

" Paeonia round each fiery ring unfurls, 

Bares to the noon's bright blaze her sanguine curls." 

Ol this genus of splendid plants there are known to be 
about twenty species, and as many varieties. It is said 
that the Pceonia officinalis rubra, or common double red 
Pseony, was introduced into Antwerp upwards of two centu- 
ries ago, at which time it was sold at an enormous price. It 
has since been highly esteemed in Europe and America, 
and is to. be found in all well-established gardens, exhibiting 
its vivid crimson petals early in June. Many suberb species 
have of late years been brought from China, a few of which 
may be noticed, with some others which are in very great 
repute. 

Pceonia alba Chinensis is one of the finest of the herba- 
ceous sorts. The flowers are white, tinged with pink at 
the bottom of the petals. 

P. edidis whitliji has also white flowers, which are very 
large and splendid. 

P. edulis fragrans, is a fine large double scarlet variety, 
and produces flowers perfumed like the rose. 

P. humei has beautiful large double dark blush-coloured 
flowers. 

P. paradoxa fimbriata, produces fringed double red 
flowers, which are very beautiful. 

These are all hardy, and may be planted about four 
inches deep in the garden, in October or November. The 
flowers exhibit themselves to the best advantage, when 
planted on a bed that is elevated, and of a circular form. 

The following are half hardy and half shrubby ; these 
have been known to survive the winter by being well pro- 
tected, but are kept much better in a greenhouse ; and they 
also exhibit their flowers to greater advantage than when 
exposed to the full sun : 

P. moutan Banksii, or Tree Paeony, produces very large 



TULIP. 185 

double blush flowers in abundance, with feathered edges to 
every petal. This variety is highly deserving of cultivation. 

P. moutan rosea is a fine rose-coloured double variety* 
and produces very splendid flowers. 

P. moutan papaveracea produces very large white flowers { 
with pink centres. This splendid variety frequently bears 
flowers from nine to eleven inches in diameter. 

Besides the above, are several others of various colours* 
some of which are semi-double, 

TULIP. 

* { For brilliant tints to charm the eye, 
What plant can with the tulip vie"? 
Vet no delicious scent it yields 
, To cheer the garden, or the.fields ; 
Vainly in gaudy colours drest, 
'Tis rather gazed on than caressed." 

The Tulip is a native of the Levant, and has been in 
cultivation nearly three centuries. It may be justly entitled 
the King of Flowers, for the brilliancy and endless com- 
bination of all colours and shades. The varieties of the 
Tulip are very numerous, and are divided into different 
classes. Those cultivated in regular beds by amateurs are 
rose-coloured, bybloemen^ and bizarres. There are a great 
many beautiful varieties, denominated Parrot Tulips, which 
have notched petals, and striped or diversified with green ; 
and also some very dwarfish kinds, both single and double, 
which are generally cultivated in parlours and greenhouses* 

Mr. T. Hogg, of Paddington, near London, has pub- 
lished a work, entitled, " A Treatise on the Cultivation of 
Florists' Flowers," which comprises the Tulip, Carnation, 
Auricula, Ranunculus, Polyanthus, Dahlia, German and 
China Asters, Seedling Heartsease, and New Annuals. In 
that work, which is dedicated to Queen Adelaide, the author 
remarks that the cultivation of the Tulip is one of the most 
fascinating and pleasing pursuits imaginable, and that when 
the " Tulip mania has fairly got hold of any one, it sticks 
to him like the skin on his back, and remains with him the 

16* 



136 TULIP. 

rest of his life." He instances a Mr. Davey, of Chelsea, 
as being in his seventy-fifth year, and in whose breast the 
fancy for Tulips was so predominant, that in the autumn of 
1832, he was induced to part with a hundred sovereigns for 
one single Tulip, named " Miss Fanny Kemble." Perhaps 
a better definition of what constitutes the properties of a 
good Tulip, could not be given than a description of this 
" precious gem, or loveliest of all Tulips ;" but, lest my 
readers should conclude that the old gentleman was in his 
dotage, I would inform them that this favourite bulb was 
purchased of the executors of the late Mr. Clarke, with 
whom it originated, and that it had not only been the pet of 
its late owner, but had excited the envy and admiration of 
all the amateurs who went to view it. 

" This precious gem, a bybloemen Tulip, was raised from 
one of Mr. Clarke's seedling breeders, and broke into colour 
three years ago ; it has produced two offsets since, and is 
adapted to the second or third row in the bed ; the stem is 
firm and elastic ; the foliage full and broad, of a lively 
green ; the cup large, and of the finest form ; the white 
pure, and wholly free from stain ; the pencilling on the 
petals is beautifully marked with black or dark purple, and 
the feathering uniform and elegant ; it preserves its shape 
to the last, the outer leaves not sinking from the inner ; in 
a word, it is considered the first flower of its cast, and the 
best that has ever been produced in England." 

The article in the work already alluded to, on the culti- 
vation of Tulips alone, occupies ninety-six pages ; I, 
therefore, cannot attempt any thing more than an abridge- 
ment of the author's ideas on some important points. 
Those of my readers who may desire full information, are 
referred to the work itself, which may be obtained of Mr. 
G. C. Thorburn.. 

The following description may serve to govern the choice 
of amateurs : Tulips exhibited at the shows, are in general, 
classed and distinguished as follows : Flamed Bizarres, 
Feathered Bizarres, Flamed Bybloemens, Feathered By- 
bloemens, Flamed Roses, Feathered Roses, and Selfs r or 
plain coloured. 



TULIP. 1ST 

A Bizarre Tulip has a yellow ground, marked with 
purple or scarlet of different shades ; it is called flamed 
when a broad irregular stripe runs up the middle of the 
petals, with short abrupt projecling points, branching out 
on each side ; fine narrow lines, called arched and ribbed 
often extend, also, from this broad stripe to the extremity 
of the leaves ; the colour generally appearing strongest in 
the inside petals ; a Tulip,, with this broad coloured stripe, 
which is sometimes called beamed or splashed, is, at the 
same time, frequently feathered also. 

It is called feathered when it is without this broad stripe ; 
but yet it may have some narrow lines, joined or detached, 
running up the centre of the leaf, sometimes branching out 
and carved towards the top, and sometimes without any 
spot or line at all ; the petals are feathered more or less 
round the edges or margin, inside and out, the pencilling or 
feathering is heavy or broad in some, and light or narrow 
in others, sometimes with breaks or gaps, and sometimes 
close, and continued all round. 

A Bybloemen Tulip has a white ground, lined, marked', 
striped, or variegated with violet or purple, only of various 
shades; and whether feathered or flamed, is distinguished 
by the same characters and marks which are pointed out 
and applied to the Bizarred Tulips. 

A Rose Tulip is marked or variegated with rose, scarlet, 
crimson, or cherry colour, on a white gronnd ; and the 
Feathered Rose is to be distinguished from the Flamed by 
the same rules, as described before ; the Rose is very often 
both feathered and flamed. 

A Self or plain-coloured Tulip, properly so called, is 
either white or yellow, and admits of no farther change ; 
other plain-coloured Tulips, whether red or purple, are 
called breeders, and are hardly worthy of being exhibited. 
Mr. Hogg informs us, that £100, say $500, judiciously 
expended at the present time, will give a moderate sized 
bed, that shall contain the greater part of the finest varieties 
grown ; such a bed as £250 would not have purchased 
twelve or fourteen years ago. To describe minutely the 
mode of planting a regular bed of Tulips would exceed 



188 Tulip. 

our limits ; suffice it to state that the name of every bulb 
should be written in a book, and that they should be so 
classed as to have the varied colours to show advan- 
tageously ; to this end, the tallest should be allotted for the 
middle of the bed, and others in regular gradation, so as to 
have the most dwarfish on the sides. The bulbs must be 
covered with good mould, to the depth of three inches from 
the top of the bulb on the sides of the bed, and about four 
inches in the middle. Let a small spoonful of clean drift 
sand be used around each bulb, and see that the bed be left 
sufficiently round from the middle to the edges. The 
beginner must understand that no unsightly tallies, or num- 
ber sticks, are to distinguish the Tulips ; but that he must 
adopt a sort of ground plan, dividing the whole bed into 
rows of seven bulbs across ; for example, take and write 
down the names and places of the Tulips in the first row, 
and continue the same form all through to the other end of 
the bed. 

Row 1st. 
No. 1. Fenelon, this is a Bybloemen. 

2. Dnchess of Clarence, - - Rose coloured. 

3. Charlemagne, Bybloemen. 

4. Louis the Sixteenth, - - Bybloemen. 

5. Memnon, ------ Bizarre. 

6. Volney, Bybloemen. 

7. Lady Crewe, Rose-coloured. 

Good fresh loam, taken from under healthy grass sods, is 
the most suitable soil for Tulips to grow in ; under which 
should be buried, to the depth of a foot, about two inches 
thickness of well rotted cow or horse droppings. The reason 
for placing the dung so low is, that the fibres may get down 
to it, (which they will do,) and that the bulbs may not 
be injured by it, as is apt to be the case if too much dung is 
used around them. The best time for planting the bulbs, is 
early in November, and the beds should be made a fortnight 
previous, in order that the earth may become sufficiently 
settled. If severe frosts set in, after the Tulips show them- 
selves above ground in the spring, some protection should 






TUBEROSE AND TIGER FLOWER. 189 

be given ; single mats placed over hoop bends answer very 
well; and at the time of blooming, an awning should be 
erected over them, sufficient to screen the Tulips from the 
intense heat of the sun, which awning should be sufficiently 
spacious to admit of persons walking under it, to view the 
beautiful flowers to the greatest possible advantage. 

TUBEROSE. 

This fragrant and delightful flower has been cultivated in 
English flower gardens for upwards of two centuries ; there 
the bulbs are generally cultivated in pots early in the spring, 
and transferred to the flower borders as soon as it becomes 
settled warm weather ; for they are very tender. They 
generally succeed very well here, if planted at once in the 
open borders towards the end of April, and produce flowers 
which are pure white, and highly odoriferous, on a stem 
from three to four feet high. The bulbs produce a number 
of offsets, which should be preserved with the parent plants 
through the winter, and then parted off and planted by 
themselves in April or early in May, to produce flowering 
roots for the ensuing year. These roots thrive best in a 
light rich soil well pulverized, in which they should be 
planted about two inches deep, not forgetting to take them 
up again before the approach of winter. 

TIGER FLOWER. 

Perhaps there is no flower treated of in this work, that isfc 
more beautiful than some of the species of the genus- 

Tigridia. Like all Mexican bulbs, these are tender, and 
should either be cultivated in the greenhouse, or carefully 
perserved until settled warm weather, and then planted in 
good light soil, in a sheltered situation. A bed of these 
beautiful flowers would afford as much gratification to some, 
as* a bed of Tulips. The Tigridia conchiflora is of a rich 
yellow colour, tinged and spotted with white and crimson ; 
the colours are very vivid and finely contrasted. The 

Tigridia jpavonia is of the brightest scarlet, tinged and 



190 CULTURE OP BULBOUS ROOTS IN ROOMS. 

spotted with brilliant yellow. The corolla which is about 
four inches in diameter, is composed of six petals ; the outer 
petals are thrown backward, and exhibit the blossom in all 
its splendour, which exists only a single day; but as if 
to compensate for its transient visit, each plant will produce 
numerous flowers ; and where a bed of them can be col- 
lected, they will amuse their admirers for several weeks 
from July to September. In such a case, the bulbs may be 
planted about two inches deep, and from twelve to fifteen 
inches apart, towards the end of April or early in May, and 
taken up again in October, to preserve for planting the 
ensuing year. 



101 



OBSERVATIONS 



CULTURE OF BULBOUS ROOTS, 



IN POTS OR GLASSES, IN THE WINTER SEASON. 



The culture of bulbous roots in a greenhouse, or light 
room, during the winter is comparatively easy, provided two 
points be attended to ; the first is, to keep them near the light, 
and to turn the pots or glasses round frequently, to prevent 
their growing crooked ; and the second is, when the plants 
have done growing to give those pots little or no water ; 
for want of attention to these points, bulbs have been known 
to produce foliage, year after year, without showing any 
blossoms. All bulbs have a certain period of the year 
in which they are in a dormant state ; this, in a state 
of nature, is invariably after the seeds are ripened ; but as 
in a greenhouse, many of this family do not ripen seeds, the 
cultivator should watch the period when the leaves show 
indications of decay ; at which time, the supplies of water 
should be lessened, and shortly afterwards the earth should 
be suffered to get dry and to remain so until the season 
returns, when the bulbs regerminate. Many sorts of bulbs 
are best kept in pots, under the soil, in a dry shady place, 
and in the same temperature as that in which they are 
in the habit of growing ; but others, such as Hyacinths, 
Tulips, Narcissus, &c. may be taken out of the soil, 
and preserved as before directed, until the proper season for 
replanting. 

Dutch bulbous roots intended for blooming in pots during 
the winter season, should be planted during the months of 



i9& CULTURE OF BULBOUS ROOTS IN ROOMS. 

October and November, and be left exposed to the open air 
until it begins to freeze ; and then be placed in the green- 
house, or in a room where a fire is usually made. They 
will need moderate occasional waterings, until they begin to 
grow ; then they should have abundance of air in mild 
weather, and plenty of water from the saucers underneath 
the pots, whilst in a growing state ; and should be exposed 
as much as possible to the sun, air, and light, to prevent the 
foliage from growing too long, or becoming yellow. 

For this purpose, single Hyacinths, and such as are 
designated earliest among the double, are to be preferred. 
Single Hyacinths are generally held in less estimation than 
double ones, their colours, however, are more vivid, and 
their bells, though smaller, are more numerous; some of 
the finer sorts are exquisitely beautiful ; they are preferable 
for flowering in winter to most of the double ones, as they 
bloom two or three weeks earlier, and are very sweet scented. 
Roman Narcissus, double Jonquils, Polyanthus, Narcissus, 
double Narcissus, and Crocuses, also make a fine appear- 
ance in the parlour during winter. It is a remarkable 
circumstance of the Crocus, that it keeps its petals expan- 
ded during tolerably bright candle or lamp light, in the same 
manner as it does during the light of the sun. If the candle 
be removed, the Crocuses close their petals, as they do in a 
garden when a cloud obscures the sun ; and when the 
artificial light is restored, they open again, as they do with 
the return of the direct solar rays. 

Hyacinths and other bulbs intended for glasses, should be 
placed in them about the middle of November, the glasses 
being previously filled with pure water, so that the bottom 
of the bulb may just touch the water ; then place them for 
the first ten days in a dark room to promote the shooting of 
the roots ; after which expose them to the light and sun as 
much as possible ; they will blossom without the aid of the 
sun ; but the colours of the flowers will be inferior. The 
water should be changed as often as it becomes impure ; 
draw the roots entirely out of the glasses, rinse the fibres in 
clean water, and also the glasses inside ; care should be 
taken not to suffer the water to freeze, as it not only bursts 



CULTURE OP BULBOUS ROOTS IN ROOMS. 193 

the glasses, but often causes the fibres to decay. Whether 
the water be hard or soft, is of no great consequence ; but 
soft, or rain water, is generally preferred, and it must be 
perfectly clear. 

Forced bulbs are seldom good for any thing afterwards ; 
however, those who wish to preserve them, may immerse 
them wholly in water for a few weeks ; and then having 
taken them up, and dried them in the shade for a few days, 
they may be planted in a good soil, which will sometimes 
cause them to flower the second year. It does not clearly 
appear in what way the water operates when the bulb is 
wholly immersed ; but it is certain that bulbs so treated 
increase in size and solidity, and have an incomparably 
better chance of flowering the second year, than those which 
have not been so treated ; most probably their total immer- 
sion enables them to obtain a greater proportion of oxygen 
from the water. 

Nosegays should have the water in which their ends are 
inserted changed, on the same principle as bulbous roots; 
and a much faded nosegay, or one dried up, may often be 
recovered for a time, by covering it with a glass bell, or cup, 
or by substituting warm water for cold. 

Very fine Hyacinths have been grown in a drawing-room, 
in the following novel manner. A quantity of moss, classi- 
cally called hypnum, and vulgarly fog, was placed in a 
water-tight box, about eight or nine inches deep, into which 
the bulbs were placed at the end of September, without 
mould, and duly watered ; the result of this experiment 
was highly favourable. 

17 



194 



OBSERVATIONS 



THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT 



GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 



Hating already exceeded my limits, I am compelled to 
be brief in my observations on such ornamental plants as 
are generally cultivated in hot and greenhouses. This 
description of plants embraces those which are collected from 
various climates, and thrive best in a temperature and soil 
similar to that in which nature first produced them : hence 
they who propagate exotic plants, must provide suitable 
composts, and also separate departments, where the differ- 
ent degrees of heat may be kept up, according to their 
nature and description. Some of these are raised from seed 
sown in the spring, others by layers, suckers, and offsets 
detached from the old plants, and many by slips or cuttings, 
planted at different seasons of the year, according to their 
various natures and state of the plants. Many kinds require 
the aid of glass coverings and bottom heat, created by fresh 
horse*dung, tan, &c. See calendar. 

Were I to attempt to give directions for the propagation 
of all the varieties of useful and ornamental exotic plants 
cultivated in various parts of our country, it would require 
an entire volume. The catalogue of greenhouse plants 
alone, kept by the enterprising proprietor of the Linnean 
Botanic Garden at Flushing, occupies fifty pages of close 
matter ; it would, therefore, be impossible to do justice to 
the subject, without dividing upwards of two thousand 
varieties of plants into classes, and treating them under 



MANAGEMENT OF GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 195 

distinct heads ; I shall, therefore, not attempt, in this edition, 
to write largely on the subject. 

In order to render this little work useful to those who 
may wish to avail themselves of the pleasure of nursing 
some of those beauties of nature in their own dwelling- 
houses, during the most chilling days of our severe winters, 
and to afford amusement to the ladies at a season when our 
gardens are deprived of their loveliest charms, I shall notice 
some essential points connected with the management of 
greenhouse plants, in as explicit a manner as possible. 

The following hints were selected for the first edition of 
the Young Gardener's Assistant, and appear to the author 
to embrace the most important points connected with the 
care of plants in the winter season. 

The generality of those denominated greenhouse plants, 
and which are kept in rooms, should be placed where they 
can have the light of the sun, without being exposed to 
frost. Air, heat, and moisture are essential to the growth of 
plants ; but these should be given in due proportions, 
according to circumstances. In frosty weather they should 
be kept from the external air, and watered very sparingly. 
When water is necessary, it should be applied in the morn- 
ing of a mild sunny day. The plants should be kept free 
from decayed leaves, and the earth at the top of the pots 
should be sometimes loosened to a moderate depth, and 
replenished with a portion of fresh compost. Plants kept 
in private houses are often killed with kindness. The tem- 
perature of a room in the winter, need not be more than ten 
degrees above freezing. If plants are healthy they may be 
kept so by attention to the preceding hints * unhealthiness 
generally arises from their being subjected to the extremes 
of heat, cold, or moisture, or from total neglect. 

In order that the ideas above advanced may be duly 
considered, it may be useful to indulge in a more minute 
description of the nature of plants, and to show in what 
manner the elements operate upon them. It is an acknow- 
ledged fact, that the roots of plants require moisture, and 
therefore penetrate the earth in search of it, and that the 
pi ants themselves are greatly nourished by air, and spread 



196 MANAGEMENT OF GREENHOUSE TliANTS. 

their branches and leaves to catch as much as possible its 
enlivening influence. Light also is so far essential, that 
there can be no colour without it ; witness the blanching of 
celery and endive, where the parts deprived of light become 
white; place a plant in almost any situation, it will invari- 
ably show a tendency to turn to the light ; the sunflower is 
a striking example of this singular fact. As the leaves 
supply the plant with air, and the fibres of the roots with 
nourishment, to strip oft' the leaves or destroy the fibres, is 
to deprive it of part of its means of support. Having shown 
that air and water are essential to vegetation, and light to 
its coloui; experience shows us that heat, in a greater or 
less degree, is not less necessary to the growth of plants ; it 
is therefore requisite, that in taking plants into our rooms, 
we should attend to these particulars. 

The internal structure of plants is composed of minute 
and imperceptible pores, which serve the same important 
purpose in the vegetable as veins in the animal system; 
they convey the circulation of the sap in the former, as the 
veins do the blood in the latter; but it is by no means 
settled as yet by physiologists how the food of plants is taken 
up into the system, and converted into their constituent 
parts. 

From the foregoing considerations and facts, it is evident, 
that, as air, heat, and moisture, are each essential to vegeta- 
tion, that water should only be given in proportion as heat 
and air are attainable. In the summer season, greenhouse 
plants may be exposed to the open air, from the early part 
of May, until the end of September, by being placed on the 
ledges of windows, or on a stand erected for the purpose, 
or in the absence of a nursery bed of flowering plants, they 
may be introduced into the regular flower-beds, to supply 
the place of such plants as may wither and die in the course 
of the summer, by being turned out of the pots and planted, 
or plunged in the earth with the pots. 

In the heat of the summer season, plants generally 
require water every evening, and in the absence of dews, 
the earth about their roots may sometimes need a little in the 
morning.; but experience shows 4 that the roots of plant s 



MANAGEMENT OP GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 197 

more frequently get injured from being sodden ed in water, 
than from being kept moderately dry. Having before in- 
timated that exotic plants will generally thrive best in a 
temperature and soil similar to that in which nature 
first produced them, it may be necessary to remind the 
reader, that we have the means of obtaining suitable com- 
posts from our own soils, and from sand, decayed leaves, 
rotten dung, and various kinds of peat, bog, and rock 
mould ; these ingredients being judiciously mixed and pre- 
pared, may be suited to all the various kinds of plants, and 
should be used as occasion requires. As the roots of plants 
make considerable growth in the course of a summer, 
it will be necessary to examine them by turning them out of 
the pots ; this may be done early in September, at which 
time all matted and decayed roots should be pared off, and 
the plants shifted into larger pots, which being filled with 
suitable compost, and watered, will be ready to be removed 
into the house on the approach of cold nights, which is 
generally early in October. 

Greenhouse plants require an annual pruning, and should 
be occasionally headed down, in order that their size and 
appearanee may be improved ; the best time for doing this 
is soon after they have done flowering, and while they are 
in a growing state. Having endeavoured to furnish my 
readers with the artificial means of preserving tender plants 
in a climate foreign to that which nature has provided for 
them, I shall call their attention to another class of plants 
well calculated for the windows of a house. 

I allude to the many beautiful varieties of the Chinese 
Chrysanthemum; these are frequently cultivated in pots, 
and may be taken from the ground and put into pots, even 
when in full flower, without injury, and when the bloom is 
over, returned to the garden. In the spring following, they 
will throw up an abundance pf suckers. 



17* 



198 CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



AUTUMN. 



* { Summer has fled — has passed away, 
And Autumn has resumed her sway ; 
Yet Flora's lingering beauties last, 
Forgetful of the coming blast. 

The Dahlias* glittering blossoms stHl 
Expand, unmindful of the chill 
Of Autumn ; and the Alyssum bed 
Does still its beauteous blossoms spread.. 

And here the Amaranthus see, 
Emblem of immortality, 
Commingled with the last sweet Rose, 
That still its monthly tribute shows. 

And Flora has her boasted ones 

Midst Autumn flowers ; chrysanthemums 

In varied hues, her claims maintain 

As mistress of the flowery train. 

Autumnal flowers — I love ye best, 
I love your neat — your simpleness. 
Better by far, than Spring's gay bloom, 
And Summer's flowers that fade so soon. 

And Autumn too — I love the scenes^ 
Where all its fading glory reigns, 
And there to hear the dying sigh 
Of Summer as she passes by." 



The following list contains some of the best varieties of 
the Chrysanthemum, and are entitled to a place in every 
flower garden. In October and November, when the waning 
year has left our gardens comparatively cheerless, these, 
with their various colours, deck them out in gaiety, and 
prolong the semblance of summer. They are perfectly 
hardy, and will brave our severest winters. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



199 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



The gold bordered 1 red ; 
the petals are red, 
striped with golden 
yellow. 

White quilled. 

Pale buff, or orange. 

Changeable, red and 
orange on same plant 

Purple. 

Lilac quilled. 

Rose-coloured, or pink. 

Lilac and white, chan- 
geable ; Ihe flowers 
vary to lilac, to white 
with a purple centre, 
and to pure white. 

Dark crimson, or Span- 
ish brown. 

Straw coloured quilled. 

Golden yellow. 

Tasseiled white. 

Superb do. 



Semidouble quilled do. 

Paper do. 

Quilled light purple. 

Expanded do. do> 

Quilled yellow. 

Double Indian yellow, 
superb. 

Double Indian white, su- 
perb. 

Brown purple. 

Early blush. 

Golden lotus. 

Quilled purple. 

Starry purple. 

Park's small yellow.^rce. 

Quilled salmon. 

-emidouble quilled pale 
orange. 

Two coloured red. 

Curled buff, or salmon. 

Large lilac. 

Late pale purple. 



Quilled flame yellow. 

Sulphur do. 

Superb clustered do. 

Small do. 

Single flame yellow. 

Cluilled pink. 

Semidouble quilled do. 

Quilled Orange. 

Semidouble quilled do. 

Early crimson. 

Curled lilac. 

Two coloured incurved. 

Blush ranunculus. 

Late quilled purple 

Tasseiled lilac. 

Tasseiled yellow. 

Yellow waratah 

Pale hlac. 

Large buff, superb, 

Barclay's 

Alton's 

Sabine's 



Chrysanthemums may be propagated from seed and cut- 
tings, and each plant will produce several suckers which 
may be separated every spring. As the flowers are liable 
to be injured by the rain in Autumn, it is advisable to take 
up a few 7 plants, and place them in a light room or green- 
house, which will preserve them for some time. 

Many people keep their late blooming plants in the house 
through the winter ; this is a bad practice, as the heat and 
want of air will exhaust or destroy the plants altogether. 
If the flowers fade before hard frost prevails, it is best either 
to plunge the pots into the ground with the plants, or turn 
them out of the pots, and plant them, with the balls of earth 
entire, into the borders of the flower garden. Early in May, 
such as may be intended for potting the ensuing season, 
should be divided at the roots, if not potted and planted, 
each kind separate. One single stem is sufficient for a 
moderate sized pot, if the object be to have bushy plants; 
but if showy plants are desired, one of each of the varied 
colours may be selected for each pot, which should be suffi- 
ciently capacious to hold tkem without crowding them, as 
this will cause the plants to grow weak and slender. If this 
happens early in the summer, a stocky growth may be pro- 
duced by clipping the tops, and they will bloom in great 
perfection in their usual season. 



200 



WINTER* 

"Where's the light, 

That shone so bright, 
Ere Summer's smile was o'er 1 

Its rays have fled ; 

And cold and dead, 
Lie all that cheered the rover. 

Where's the green 

That deck'd the scene, 
With smiles of sunny gladness 1 

Alas ! decay'd, 

It wears the shade 
Of stern and gloomy sadness! 

Where's the flowers 

That filled the bowers 
With hues of brightest splendour 1 

Their bloom has gone, 

Their fragrance flown, — 
Like childhood's joys so tender. 

Where's the breeze 

That fann'd the trees, 
With soft and gentle motion 1 

The roaring blast 

Now rushes past 
Like loud-resounding Ocean. 

Where's the bird 

Whose music stirr'd 
The soul with thrilling pleasure? 

He's plum'd his flight 

To realms of light, 
And th*ere awakes his measure. 

Where's the cloud, 

That like a shroud, 
Of silver whiteness wreathing 

The calm hlue sky 1 

Dark tempests fly, 
The dirge ol Autumn breathing. 

And one by one, 

The charms that shone, 
Have all at length departed ; 

So pass the days 

Of hi:n who strays, 
Till wreck'd and broken-hearted. 

But when the blast 

Is overpast, 
And Winter's reign is over, 

Blithe Spring once more, 

Will joy restore, 
And cheer again the rover.'' 



0^ The annexed article, entitled the Matrimonial Gar- 
den, is respectfully submitted as an appendage to the 
Fiower Garden. 



THE 

MATRIMONIAL GARDEN. 



Man is formed for social enjoyment, and if it be allowed 
that " it is not good for man to be alone,*' it may be justly 
inferred that it is not good that woman should be alone, 
hence a union of interests indicates a union of persons for 
their mutual benefit. By this union, a sort of seclusion 
from the rest of our species takes place ; and as a garden 
is a retired apartment, appropriated to culture and im- 
provement, the married state may not be inaptly compared 
with it in many respects. 

It is good and honourable for the human species, pru- 
dently and cautiously to approach this delightful enclosure. 
Its entrance in general is extremely gay and glittering, 
being strewed with flowers of every hue and every fragrance* 
calculated to charm the eye and please the taste ; but they 
are not all so : and as thpre are many persons who may 
wish to enter this garden at some time or other, who are yefc 
strangers to its various productions, their attention should 
be directed to the cultivation of those plants which are 
beneficial, and to the avoiding or rooting up of those which 
are injurious. 

And first, let me caution adventurers in this garden not 
to dream of permanent happiness; if you should so dream, 
experience will soon make you wiser, as such happiness 
never existed but in visionary heads. If you are desirous 
that this garden should yield you all the bliss of which it is 
capable, you must take with you that excellent flower called 
good humour, which, of all the flowers of nature, is the 
most delicious and delicate ; do not drop it or lose it, as 
many do soon after they enter the garden — it is a treasure 
that nothing can supply the loss of. When you get to the 
end of the first walk, which contains about thirty steps, 
commonly called " the Honey Moon Path," you will find 
the garden open into a vast variety of views, and it is 
necessary to caution you to avoid many productions in thesa 



202 THE MATRIMONIAL GARDEN. 

which are noxious, nauseous, and even fatal in their nature 
and tendency, especially to the ignorant and unwary. 
There is a low, small plant, which may be seen in almost 
every path, called indifference. — This, though not per- 
ceived in the entrance, you will always know where it 
grows, by a certain coldness in the air which surrounds it. 
Contrary to the nature of plants in general, this grows by 
cold and dies by warmth ; whenever you perceive this 
change in the air, avoid the place as soon as you can. In 
t'le same path is often found that baneful flower called 
jealousy, which I advise you never to look at, for it has the 
strange quality of smiting the eye that beholds it, with a 
pain that is seldom or never got rid of. Jealousy is a 
deadly flower ; it is the aconite of the garden, and has 
marred the happiness of thousands. 

As you proceed, you will meet with many little crooked 
paths. I advise you as a friend, never to go into them ; 
for although at the entrance of each, it is written in large 
letters, i am right, if you do enter, and get to the end of 
them, you will find the true name to be perverseness. 
These crooked paths occasion endless disputes, and as it is 
difficult to make the crooked straight, it is better to avoid 
them altogether, lest, as it sometimes happens, a total sepa- 
ration be the consequence, and you take different paths the 
rest of you lives. Near this spot, you will meet with a 
rough, sturdy plant, called obstinacy, which bears a hard, 
knotty fruit, that never digests, and of course must injure 
the constitution ; it even becomes fatal, when taken in large 
quantities. Turn from it, avoid it as you would the 
cholera. 

Just opposite to this, grows that lovely and lively shrub? 
called compliance, which, though not always pleasant to 
the palate, is very salutary, and leaves a sweetness in the 
mouth ; it is a most excellent shrub, and produces the 
most delicious fruit. — Never be without a very large sprig 
in your hand ; it will often be wanted as you go along, for 
you cannot be happy without it in any part of the garden. 

Jn one of the principal compartments, stands a very im- 
portant plant called economy ; it is of a thriving quality ; 



THE MATRIMONIAL GARDEN 20$ 

Cultivate this fine plant with all your care; for it 
adorns and enriches at the same time. Many overlook it, 
some despise it, and others think that they will never want 
it ; it is generally overlooked in the gaiety and levity with 
which people enter this place, but the want of it is generally 
deplored with bitter repentance. There are two other 
pl-ants of the same species, which are very closely connected, 
called industry and frugality, and I must take leave to 
tell you, that unless both the male and the female partake 
largely of their branches, very little success can be expected ; 
in this they must both unite. Take care that you provide 
yourself and partner with a supply of each as soon as pos- 
sible after you enter the garden. 

There are two or three paths which run much into one ano- 
ther, and deserve the closest attention of the softer sex ; I mean 
regularity, exactness, and simplicity.* Do not think, 
as some do, that when you have once got into the garden, 
you may be neglectful of these paths. Remember that 
your companion will see your neglect, which will affect his 
eye, and may alienate his heart. Enter on these depart- 
ments, then, as soon as you enter the garden, and when 
you are once fairly in, you are in for life ; the danger is 
that if you do not get into them at an early period, you will 
not find them afterwards. Near these walks is to be found 
that modest plant, called humility : 

It is the Violet, "doomed to blush unseen, 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air." 

It- appears of little worth in itself, but when joined with 
other virtues, it adds a charm to life, and spreads a fragrance 
around its wearer. Cultivate then, with all your care, this 
sweet little plant, and you will find it prevent the growth of 
all poisonous and noxious weeds. 

Allow me also to drop a hint on the subject of cultiva- 
tion, as connected with propagation, as that most probably 
will be your employment in this garden, sooner or later. 
Should you have the rearing of a young plant, remember 
that it is frail in its nature, and liable to be destroyed by 

* In deportment as well as in dress. 



204 THE MATRIMONIAL GARDEN* 

every blast, and will demand all your care and attention. 
Should you be witness to a blast on its dawning beauties, 
Oh! how your fond heart will bleed with tenderness, affec- 
tion, and sympathy ! The young shoot will naturally twine 
around all the fibres of your frame. Should it live and 
thrive, spare no pains to " train it up in the way it should 
go." Weed it, water it, prune it; it will need all the cul- 
tivator's skill. Without this, many weeds and baneful 
plants will grow up with it, and blast your fondest hopes. 
Be ever mindful that this is a trust for which both parties 
are accountable. 

Without careful cultivation, what can you expect but the 
most luxuriant ^growth of unruly appetites, which, in time, 
will break forth in all manner of disgraceful irregularities ? 
What, but that anger, like a prickly thorn, will arm the 
temper with an untractable moroseness ? That peevish- 
ness, like a stinging nettle, will render the conversation 
irksome and forbidding X That avarice, like some choking 
weed,will teach the fingers to gripe,and the hands to oppress 1 
That revenge, like some poisonous plant, replete with bane- 
ful juices, will rankle in the breast, and meditate mischief 
to its neighbour. While unbridled lusts, like swarms of 
noisome insects, taint each rising thought, and render 
" every imagination of the heart only evil continually V 
Such are the usual products of unrestrained nature ! Such 
the furniture of the uncultivated mind ! 

By all means, then, pay due attention to culture. By 
suitable discipline, clear the soil ; by careful instruction, 
implant the seeds of virtue. By skill and vigilance, prune 
the unprofitable and over-luxuriant branches : — " direct the 
young idea how to shoot," — -the wayward passions how to 
move. The mature man will then become the chief orna- 
ment of the garden. Around him charity will breathe her 
sweets, and in his branches hope expand her blossoms. 
In him the personal virtues will display their graces, and the 
social ones their fruit — the sentiments become generous, 
the carriage endearing, the life useful, and the end happy 
and peaceful. 



OBSERVATIONS 



FRUIT GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 



In my preliminary observations on the subjects I have 
hitherto treated on, I am aware that it may appear to some, 
ihat I have not sufficiently urged the importance of a 
judicious selection of situation, exposure, aspect, soil, &c. 
My object in not insisting on a strict attention to these 
important points was, because I know that, though good 
land is abundant in this extensive country, it is impossible 
for every one to choose for himself; and rather than any 
disadvantages in these respects, should discourage pro- 
prietors of land from attempting to raise garden products, 
so necessary to the comfort and convenience of every 
family, I have endeavoured to show them how to use to 
advantage whatever land may surround their places of 
abode. As, however, some have a choice, it may be ne- 
cessary to offer some further remarks on the subject. 

The situation of an Orchard or Fruit Garden should be 
one that has the advantage of a free circulation of air, and 
is well exposed to the south, also to incline a little to the 
east, and south-west. When the situation is low and close, 
the trees are very liable to become mossy, which always 
injures them, by closing up the pores of the wood ; they are 
also more liable to be affected by blight. Although having 
an Orchard closely pent up by trees, &c. is injurious, 
nevertheless a screen of forest trees, at such a distance from 
the fruit trees, as that the latter will not be shaded by them, 
is of very great service in protecting the trees in spring from 
severe cold winds. A good strong loamy soil, not too re- 

18 



206 OBSERVATIONS ON THE 

tentive of moisture, to the depth of thirty inches, or three 
feet, is most suitable for an Orchard. Great attention must 
be paid to the substratum, so that the ground is well drained, 
for if the top soil be ever so good and the bottom be wet, it 
is a very rare case to find that the trees will prosper for 
many years, before they begin to be diseased and go to 
decay. As it is so indispensably necessary to the success 
of fruit trees that the bottom be dry, if it be not naturally 
so, it must be made so, by judicious draining. 

When it is necessary to make the bottom dry by draining, 
it must be done for some time before the trees are planted. 
In performing this work, the ground must be trenched, and 
when the trench is open, stone, or brick-bats, &c. must be 
laid over the bottom to the thickness of six inches, a little 
coal ashes, or small gravel, must be sprinkled over the top 
of the stones, &c, and then the surface be gently rolled. 
Also drains may be made in different directions, so that 
any excess of moisture can be taken entirely away from the 
ground. 

It is well known to most cultivators, that exposure of 
soils to the atmosphere greatly improves them, as is expe- 
rienced by ridging and trenching. Where the soil is stiff 
and stubborn, small gravel, sand, coal ashes, lime, light 
animal and vegetable manure, and other light composts, are 
very appropriate substances to be applied, and will, if care- 
fully managed and well worked into the ground, soon bring 
it into a proper condition for most purposes. 

Previous to laying out an Orchard or Fruit Garden, the 
soil should be manured and pulverized to a great depth. 
The soil should be sweet, that the nutriment which the roots 
receive may be wholesome ; free, that they may be at full 
liberty to range in quest of it ; and rich, that there may be 
no defect in food. 

If Orchards be made from meadows or pasture lands, the 
ground should be improved as much as possible by manur- 
ing, trenching, ploughing, &c. If this is not done to its 
full extent, it should be done in strips of at least six feet in 
width along where the fruit trees are to be planted, and at 



ORCHARD AND FRUIT GARDEN. 207 

the time of planting let the holes be dug somewhat larger 
than is sufficient to admit the roots in their natural position, 
and of sufficient depth to allow of a foot of rich and well 
pulverized mould to be thrown in before the trees are 
planted In planting fruit trees, they should be placed two 
or three inches deeper than they were in the nursery bed, 
and the earth intended for filling in, should be enriched and 
well pulverized by mixing in some good old manure, and if 
any leaves, decayed brush, rotten wood, potatoe tops, or 
other refuse of a farm be attainable, let such be used around 
the trees in filling, taking care that the best pulverized 
mould be admitted among the fine roots. The trees in 
planting should be kept at ease, and several times shaken, 
so as to cause an equal distribution of the finer particles of 
earth to be connected with the small fibres of the roots ; 
and when completely levelled, let the ground be well trodden 
down and moderately watered, which should be repeated 
occasionally after spring planting, if the weather should 
prove dry. 

As some difference of opinion exists among practical men as 
to the best time for planting fruit trees, the following extract 
from Mr. Prince's Treatise on Horticulture is submitted : 

u Seasons for Transplanting. — Spring is the season 
when we find the most pleasure in making our rural im- 
provements, and from this circumstance probably it has 
become the general season for planting trees, but experi- 
ence has proved the fall planting to be the most successful, 
especially in those parts of the United States which are 
subject t& droughts, as the trees planted in autumn suffer 
little or none from drought, when those set out in spring 
often perish in consequence of it. Notwithstanding, with 
regard to those fruits that have been originally brought from 
warmer climates, such as the Peach, Apricot, Nectarine, 
and Almond, which are natives 6f Persia, Armenia, &c, it 
is necessary for us to consult the operations of climate also ; 
and, from a consideration of those attendant circumstances, 
.1 have come to the following conclusions. In localities 
south of New-York, the fall season is preferable only for 



208 OBSERVATIONS ON THE 

the Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Quince, and all other trees 
of northern latitude ; whereas, the spring is to be preferred 
for the Peach, Apricot, Nectarine, and Almond, which for 
the reasons before stated, might, during severe winters, 
suffer from the intensity of the frosts. Still I do not mean 
to assert, that trees of those kinds are certain to be injured 
by the winter, as in very many seasons they are not in the 
least affected ; still they are exposed to vicissitudes which 
may or may not occur. Many gentlemen, however, of ex- 
cellent jndgment, make their plantations in the fall, which 
only serves to prove, that even in the most intelligent minds, 
a diversity of opinion exists. 

" Trees, &c. on their arrival at the place of des- 
tination. — As soon as the trees arrive at the place where 
they are to be planted, let a trench be dug in cultivated 
ground, the bundle unpacked, and the roots well wet, and 
immediately covered with earth in the trench, observing to 
make the earth fine that is spread over them, so as not to 
leave vacancies for the admission of air to the dry roots, it 
having been found by experience that the thriftiness of trees, 
the first year after transplanting, depends much on the fine 
fibres of the roots being kept moist, and not suffered to dry 
from the time they are taken up until they are replanted ; 
their increase, therefore, must depend principally on the 
subsequent management on their arrival at the place of des- 
tination : for if, when the bundles are unpacked, the trees 
are carelessly exposed to drying winds, the young fibres of 
the roots must perish, and the trees, if they live at all, 
cannot thrive the first season, as they can receive little or 
no nourishment until these fibres are replaced. 

To cause the Trees to thrive. — The ground where 
they are planted must be kept cultivated ; young trees will 
not thrive if the grass be permitted to form a sod around 
them, and if it should be necessary to plant them in grass 
grounds, care must be taken to keep the earth mellow and 
free from grass for three or four feet distant around them, 
and every autumn some well rotted manure should be dug 
in and around each tree, and every spring the bodies of the 



ORCHARD AND FRUIT GARDEN. 209 

Apple, Pear, Plum, and Cherry Trees, and others that it is 
particularly desirable to promote the growth of, should be 
brushed over with common soft soap, undiluted with water ; 
this treatment will give a thriftiness to the trees surpassing 
the expectation of any one who has not witnessed its effect. 
Should the first season, after transplanting prove dry, regu- 
lar watering will be necessary, as from neglect of proper 
attention in this respect, many lose a large portion of their 
trees during a drought." 

Such kinds of fruit trees treated upon in this work as 
may require any other than good ordinary soil, may be sup- 
plied, by judicious management ; and if a proper attention 
be paid to the situation and aspect in arranging a Fruit 
Garden, each kind may be so accommodated as to promote 
its fruits' ripening earlier or later than the ordinary season, 
by varying the aspect ; but Grape Vines, or other tender 
fruits, should not be planted where the sun's influence does 
not fully operate. 

Where there is a great extent of close fencing or wall, it 
is advisable to plant trees of the same kind against different 
aspeets. Such as one or two May Duke Cherries against a 
south aspect, which will ripen earliest ; next, against either 
an east or west, and lastly, against a north aspect ; by ob- 
serving this method with Dwarf Cherries, Plums, Goose- 
berries, Currants, &c the fruit will ripen in succession, and 
thus a supply of them is considerably lengthened. The early 
blooming fruit trees will sometimes need protection in warm 
aspects ; for which arrangements may be made by keeping 
awning, matting, netting, &c. at hand, to shelter them with, 
in threatening weather, or to screen them from the intense 
heat of the sun after a frosty night ; this, with a sprinkling 
of water, as the air gets warm, will often prevent any serious 
consequences from slight frost. 

Those who have various soils, should suit them to the 
different kinds of fruit. Apples and Pears require a strong 
loam, but rather the lightest for the pear. Apricots, Cher- 
ries, Peaches, Plums, and Nectarines, a good deal lighter 
than for the Apple and Pear. Such fruits as may require 
peat, bog, or any other extraordinary kinds of earth, will be 
noticed as we proceed. 18* 



210 



OBSERVATIONS 

ON INSECTS, AND DISEASES TO WHICH FRUIT TREES ARE 
LIABLE. 

Much may be written relative to the various diseases to 
which fruit trees are liable, and also to the prevention and 
destruction of the various kinds of reptiles and insects, 
which very frequently deprive us of the first fruits of our 
garden. The preventive operations are those of the best 
culture. Fall ploughing, by exposing worms, grubs, the 
larvse of bugs, beetles, &c, to the intense frost of our win- 
ters, and the moderate use of salt, lime, ashes, &c. are 
beneficial. Insects may be annoyed, and sometimes their 
complete destruction effected, by the use of soap-suds, lie, 
tar, turpentine, sulphur, pepper, soot, decoction of elder, 
walnut leaves, tobacco, and other bitter and acrid substances ; 
but perhaps the most effectual way of keeping some of the 
most pernicious kinds of insects under, is to gather up such 
fruit as may fall from the trees, before the insects have an 
opportunity of escaping into the earth, or to other places of 
shelter. 

Where trees are planted in a bad soil, or unfavourable 
situations, they often become diseased ; when this happens, 
the best remedy is good pruning, and keeping the trees 
clean, by a free use of soap and water. If that will not do, 
they may be headed down, or removed to a better situation. 
Barrenness and diseases are generally produced by the bad 
qualities of earth and air, by a want of water, or by the 
inroads of insects. These incidents generally show them- 
selves in the early part of the year. Leaves and shoots of 
any colour but the natural green ; curled and ragged leaves ; 
branches in a decaying state ; shoots growing from the 
roots, instead of from the stem or trunk ; the stem diseased 
in its bark, and gum oozing from various parts thereof, are 
all proofs of the existence of disease. The Peach tree is 
subject to a disease called the yellows ; and the discoloured 
leaves and feeble branches are often ascribed to the worms 



OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS 2J| 

which so frequently attack the root ; where these are found 9 
they may be removed by a knife or chisel ; but if it should 
appear that the tree is diseased, it should be removed, to 
prevent other trees from being infected. The Pear, and 
also the Quince, and sometimes other trees, are subject to 
the fire blight ; this malady may be completely checked on 
its first appearance, by cutting off and immediately burning 
the injured branches. Generally speaking, careful pruning, 
cleaning the bark all over with a brush, applying soap or 
tobacco water to the leaves, and occasionally putting good 
ear ih and good manure to the roots, will remedy most 
diseases in fruit trees ; removing them from a bad to a bet- 
ter soil, will, of course, effect this, where it proceeds from a 
poorness of land ; for the old adage, "remove the cause, 
and the effect will cease," will be here exemplified. To 
cure the oozing of the gum, nothing is more necessary than 
to cut away the diseased parts of the bark ; and by thus 
assisting nature in casting out the excrementitious, or nox- 
ious juices, a complete cure may be effected. When a tree 
is affected by mildew, let it be immediately sprinkled with 
soap-suds, and then be dusted over with sulphur and tobacco 
dust, or snuff j at the same time, dig around the tree, and 
examine the soil, and sub-soil ; if it be wet and cankery, it 
should be taken away, and replaced with good healthy soil, 
and the ground drained ; if, on the contrary, the ground be 
dry, give it a plentiful watering ; the same remedy may 
serve as a preventive of the extension of blight, if taken in 
time. When any canker is observed, the part affected must, 
at the winter pruning, be cut clean out, and the part thus 
dressed be pared, so that no water be able to lodge in the 
wound ; when this is done, let a quantity of soot be mixed 
up with water, after which, let a little train oil be well 
worked amongst it, but so that the mixture finally remain 
stiff; this may be plastered over all the wounds that have 
been pruned. The application of this mixture keeps out 
the wet from the wounds, where it would be likely to lodge, 
and both the soot and oil promote vegetation. When trees 
are cankery from having a bad sub-soil, it is in vain to apply 



212 AND DISEASES OP FRUIT TREES. 

any remedy till the ground is properly drained, and some 
fresh soil be mixed with the natural soil, also the tree 
replanted. When trees are known to be so situated as to 
be particularly liable to the attacks of insects or disease, 
they should be attended to at the time of winter pruning, 
in order to destroy the insects in their larvae state. 

The following compositions have been known to protect 
fruit trees from the attacks of numerous insects, by being 
used as a wash to the trees immediately after the winter 
pruning. The constitution of some trees will bear a much 
stronger mixture of ingredients than others ; but the pro- 
portions, as hereafter described, will not be injurious to 
any, but will be effectual in the destruction of the larvae of 
insects. 

For Apricot, Nectarine, and Peach Trees. — To eight 
gallons of water add one pound of soft soap, two pounds of 
common sulphur, and half an ounce of black pepper. 

For Apple, Cherry, Pear, and Plum Trees. — To four 
gallons of water add one pound of soft soap, two pounds of 
common sulphur, two ounces of tobacco, and one ounce of 
black pepper. 

For Figs and Vines. — To four gallons of water add half 
a pound of soft soap, one pound of sulphur, and a quarter 
of an ounce of black pepper. 

All these ingredients must be boiled together for twenty 
minutes at least, and when in a lukewarm state, applied to 
the bark of the trees with a suitable brush. 

The most destructive enemy to our fruits, is the Curculio ; 
this insect passes the winter in the earth in a chrysalis state, 
and if suffered to remain unmolested by the gardener, will 
be ready to commence his attacks at about the time the 
blossoms appear on our fruit trees. The eggs are depo- 
sited in the Apple, Pear, and all stone fruit, at a very early 
stage of their growth; these eggs soon hatch, and small 
maggots are produced, which exist in the fruit, causing it to 
drop off prematurely, with the little enemy within. If this 
fruit be gathered up, or immediately devoured by hogs, 
geese, or other animals, a check may be put to their 



OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS 218 

ravages in succeeding years ; but if suffered to remain on 
the ground, they will supply food to myriads of their 
destructive race, which may not be so easily extirpated. 
The canker-worm is another enemy to our fruits, for the 
destruction of which many experiments have been tried. 
Some apply bandages round the body of the tree, smeared 
over with tar or ointment, to annoy or entrap the females in 
their ascent to the tree ; but as these tormentors are fre- 
quently on the move from November to the end of June, 
this must be a very tedious as well as uncertain process. As 
this insect is supposed to exist within four feet of ihe trunk 
of the tree, and not more than three or four inches from 
the surface of the earth, good culture, and a moderate use 
of lime, ashes, or any other pernicious ingredient, is the 
most likely way to destroy them. The bark-louse is another 
pernicious insect ; they resemble blisters, and are so near 
the colour of the bark as to be imperceptible ; they often 
prove fatal to the Apple tree, by preventing the circulation 
of the sap. These insects may be conquered by washing 
the trees with soap-suds, tobacco water, lime water, or 
brine, or a wash may be made of soapy water and lime, 
thickened to the consistence of cream or paint, with sifted 
sand or clay, which may be applied with a brush to the 
trunk and limbs of the trees ; this should be done at the 
latter end of May, or early in June, and the cracks in the 
bark should be completely covered. 

The Apple-tree borer is said to deposit its eggs beneath 
the surface of the soil, and the worms are often to be found 
in the spring of the year, by digging round the tree, and 
clearing away the earth to the roots, and may be taken out 
with a knife or gouge and destroyed. After the worms are 
removed, the wounds should be covered over with grafting 
clay and wood ashes mixed, and the earth then returned to 
the roots of the tree. Some use bricklayers' mortar early 
in the spring, around the base of the tree, so as to cover the 
part where the deposit is made, and prevent their attacks. 

Although our limits will not allow of a further description 
of the various sorts of insects which injure our gardens, and 
frequently destroy the fruit of our labour, I cannot forbear 



214 AND DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES. 

directing the attention of our citizens to the importance of 
saving all kinds of ashes. If all agriculturists and horticul- 
turists were to offer an inducement to the inhabitants of 
large cities, to save their ashes in a dry state, they would be 
supplied not only with a valuable manure, but an antidote 
for many kinds of insects ; and our citizens would be at a 
less risk from fire, by having a brick vault on the premises 
for safe keeping them. In England, a private dwelling is 
not considered complete without an ash-vault ; and a good 
farmer would dispense with his barn, rather than be desti- 
tute of an ash-house. I have known farmers to supply the 
cottagers with as much peat as they could burn, on condi- 
tion of their saving them the ashes ; and there are some that 
will keep men under pay throughout the year, burning peat 
for the same purpose ; and any thing that has passed the 
fire is so valuable, that a chimney-sweep will frequently 
clean chimneys for the sake of the soot, which is conveyed 
miles into the country, and sold at a price sufficient to reward 
the collectors, besides paying all expenses ; even the house- 
keepers' ashes in cities is a marketable article at all times, 
at from ten to twenty-five cent per bushel, when kept dry 
and clean, and a guinea a load was formerly the common 
price in the villages of Berkshire and Hampshire. 

While on this subject, I would urge the importance of a 
spring dressing of ashes. If cultivators were to prepare 
turfs from tanners' bark, peat-earth, coal dust mixed with 
clay, cow dung, <fcc. and get them dried in the summer 
season, these, by being preserved through the winter, may be 
burned around fruit orchards, while the trees are in blossom, 
and if the fires are properly managed, a smoke may be kept 
op, by heaping on damp litter every night ; this will prove 
pernicious to such insects as may reside in the trees, and the 
ashes being spread on the ground, will serve as a means for 
the destruction of others. An orchard thus managed every 
year, will need no other manure. The smoking should be 
effected first on one side of the plantation, and afterwards 
on the other, or heaps may be prepared in different parts of 
the orchard, and fire applied according as the wind may 
serve, to carry the smoke where it is most necessary. I 



OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS 215 

know a gardener in the neighbourhood of New-York, who 
saved his Plums and Nectarines by burning salt hay, after 
its having been used as a covering for his Spinach ; and I 
have no hesitation in recommending it as an excellent re- 
medy for securing fruit trees from insects, especially if some 
coarse tobacco could be procured to add to it. The damper 
the materials are, in moderation, the more smoke they will 
create ; and if a little tar, pitch, sulphur, or other pernicious 
combustible be sprinkled amongst them, it will be beneficial. 
This subject appears to me of the utmost consequence to the 
farmer, as well as to the community at large ; I, therefore,, 
cannot forbear offering some further observations. 

It must be acknowledged, that although this country con- 
tains an abundance of wood, coal, and peat, as well as 
almost every other description of fuel, that the poor of our 
large cities, in general, suffer greatly from cold ; and if all 
the tales of woe could be sounded in the ears of a sympa- 
thizing community during our severe winter, I am per- 
suaded it would arouse them to the consideration of a 
remedy. It is an acknowledged fact, that the poor of Europe 
are cheaper and better supplied with fuel than those of this 
country. This arises, in a great measure, from the circum- 
stance of ashes being held in high estimation by agricul- 
turists ; they are consequently a saleable article in their 
large towns and cities, at a price equal in some instances 
to half the cost of a winter's fuel. 

Now I would ask, how is it that ashes are not as valuable 
to the farmer here, as they are in Europe 1 The extreme 
heat of the summers must certainly engender insects in 
equal if not greater proportions ; and as respects manure, it 
must be scarcer in some parts of this extensive country, than 
it is in the densely populated countries of Europe. Perhaps 
some may answer, that ashes are already used by our culti- 
vators to a considerable extent; but I would remind such, 
that from the circumstance of their being mixed up with 
other manures, and exposed to all sorts of weather, (as in 
our city,) they lose their virtue, so that a load may not be 
worth more than a bushel would be, if kept dry and clean. 
The farmers of Europe consider peat ashes of more value 



216 AND DISEASES OF FRUIT TREES. 

than any others, and I am persuaded that could they be 
fairly tested by some of our best cultivators, great good may 
result to the community. If the farmers of England can 
afford to keep men under pay, perpetually burning peat for 
the sake of the ashes, it is natural to suppose that the poor 
of our community may be placed in easier circumstances as 
respects the article of fuel. Thousands of acres of land 
are to be found in the States of New York and New Jersey, 
and within a few miles of this city, which abound with peat 
earth; and? the owners of such have already began to ex- 
plore their treasures of this description. Good peat is now 
to be had in the city at the low price of eight cents per 
bushel, or three dollars per chaldron. It burns well in all 
sorts of stoves and grates, whether made for wood or coal, 
and also on the hearth ; and if the ashes are not used to any 
better purposes than other ashes have hitherto been, it is the 
cheapest fuel known. I am persuaded that this subject is 
worthy of serious consideration, and if the editors of the 
different papers would arouse the public attention, so as to 
enlist some of our most active citizens to a consideration of 
the subject, incalculable good may result to the community 
at large. 

If the honourable the Corporation of our city, and others 
who distribute fuel amongst the poor, gratis, would give 
them peat instead of wood, it would be much cheaper, and 
would answer every purpose to the consumers. In such 
cases twelve bushels may be given in the first winter month 
to each of the applicants, instead of wood, with a strict in- 
junction that they save their ashes in a dry state, in order to 
their being taken in exchange for a future supply of peat. 
It could be easily ascertained how much ashes twelve 
bushels of peat would make, and if a strict attention be paid 
to the conditions of exchange, it would soon be discovered 
which of the applicants was most entitled to the distributor's 
bounty. The same sheds which it would be necessary to 
provide for housing the peat, could be used as a deposit for 
the ashes. If such sheds be conveniently constructed to 
hold each a moderate quantity, the first which is emptied of 
peat may be filled with the first ashes that are returned in 



ON TRAINING AND PRUNING. 217 

exchange for a future supply of fuel, and they could be 
all used for the same purpose as they become empty. These 
ashes, when fairly tested, may become a merchantable 
article, as in Europe ; and it is very probable that farmers 
may be induced to take them in exchange for future supplies 
of peat ; they could, however, be conveyed into the country 
at a trifling expense, and would no doubt meet a ready sale. 



OBSERVATIONS 

ON TRAINING AND PRUNING FRUIT TREES AND VINES. 

In training and pruning fruit trees and vines, particular 
attention is required. To supply a tree with a sufficiency 
of vegetable juices, there must necessarily be living bark 
and wood, in an uninterrupted succession from the root to 
the extremities of the branches ; pruning therefore, is useful 
to remedy any defect, as well as to take off superfluous 
wood, and prevent unnecessary waste of the sap. Pruning 
may be performed at different seasons of the year, according 
to the kinds of fruit, which will be shown under each head, 
as we proceed. 

In the spring or summer pruning, be careful not to de- 
stroy the germs of future fruits ; but merely remove all 
unserviceable sprigs. In the winter season, make your 
selection from the wood shoots of the preceding year; keep 
those which appear the most healthy, and cut away those 
which seem redundant. Beginners had better prefer the 
spring, as the buds will then be a guide for them to go by ; 
but this business must not be delayed too late in the season, 
as some kinds of trees and vines are apt to bleed from being 
pruned untimely. When the sap rises in Grape Vines, &e. 
before the wound is healed, bleeding ensues, and it is not 
easily stopped. When this happens, sear the place, and 
cover it with melted wax, or with warm pitch spread upon 
a piece of bladder ; or peel off the outside bark to some 
distance from the place ; and then press into the pores of 
the wood a composition of pounded chalk and tar, mixed to 

19 



2(8 OBSERVATIONS ON TRAINING AND 

the consistence of putty. Vines will bleed in autumn as well 
as in spring, though not so copiously. The best preventive 
is timely o'early pruning in the spring ; and not pruning 
until the wood is thoroughly ripe in autumn 

With respect to the manner in which vines, and some 
particular kinds of trees should be trained, opinions 
are at variance. Some advise training the shoots in a 
straight and direct manner, others in a horizontal manner, 
and others in a serpentine form, &c. If vines be trained 
on low walls or trellises, the horizontal or zigzag manner of 
training may be adopted. Horizontal training is that in 
which from a main stem, lateral branches are led out hori- 
zontally on each side. 

It has been remarked, that in order to be a good trainer 
of vines, a man must have some forethought, and be capable 
of making his selection, as the plants shoot. He must pre- 
determine how he shall prune, and where he shall cut at 
the end of the season ; and so, as it were, fashion the plants 
to his mind. He has this more effectually in his power, 
with respect to the vine, than any other fruit tree, on ac- 
count of its rapid growth and docility. 

In pruning vines, cut generally two inches above the bud. 
Some cut nearer, even as near as half an inch, which is apt 
to weaken the shoot of next season, and sometimes to pre- 
vent its vegetating at all, the buds being very susceptible of 
injury, on account of the soft and spongy nature of the wood. 
In the cutting out of old wood, be careful to cut in a sloping 
direction, and to smooth the edges of the wood, in order to 
prevent its being injured by moisture. The pruning being 
finished, let the loose, shreddy, outward rind on the old wood 
be carefully peeled off, observing not to injure the sound 
bark, and clear the trellis of branches, leaves, tendrils, &c. 
Let the shoots and branches be afterwards regularly laid in, 
at the distance above specified, particularly the young shoots 
that are expected to bear next season. As to others, it is 
not so material how near the young shoots be placed to 
the old, even though they sometimes cross them. Choose 
strands of fresh matting, or pack thread, to tie with; and 



PRUNING FRUIT TREES AND VINES. 219 

observe to leave sufficient room for the swelling of the shoots 
and branches next season. 

By attending to the proper pruning of fruit trees in the 
winter, every advantage is promoted, and by a judicious 
management in other respects, wood may not only be ob- 
tained but preserved in every part of the tree, and so that it 
will bear down to the very bole, which will evidently be 
greatly to the credit of the gardener, the benefit of the pro- 
prietor, and will be equally conducive to the beauty and 
welfare of the tree. While trees are young, it is necessary 
to lay a good foundation for a supply of bearing wood in 
future years, for when this is neglected, and they become 
naked, it is some time before a supply can be recovered. In 
shortening a branch, always take care to cut in a direction 
a little sloping, and the middles of all standard trees 
should be kept as open as possible. It is requisite to have 
a very sharp knife, that the cut may not be ragged, but clean, 
and in the operation, be careful that the knife does not slip 
so that any other branch be cut or damaged. The general 
pruning of fruit trees is indifferently performed by many 
persons at any time from autumn to spring, and it may be 
so done without any great injury to them, provided that 
mild weather be chosen for the purpose, and the wood be 
well ripened. Although it may be advantageous to prune 
trees early in the winter, when the wood is well ripened, yet 
when the wood is green and the buds have not arrived at a 
mature state, it is requisite in such instances to defer pru- 
ning until spring, taking care, however, that it is performed 
before the moving of the sap. The necessity of this arises 
from the circumstance, that as the wood is not ripened in 
autumn, the sap is then in an active state, and will continue 
so until the frost, &c. causes it to become stagnant, and if 
the shoots were shortened whilst the sap was in motion, the 
buds would be considerably injured, and the tree weakened ; 
such unripe shoots are also more liable to suffer by the 
severity of winter, and when the pruning is deferred until 
spring, all such parts as may have been affected by the 
weather, can be removed to the extent to. which the damage 



320 ON TRAINING AND PRUNING. 

has been sustained. As the pruning of such unripe wood 
in the autumn would be injurious, so it frequently is when 
it is done during winter, and the more so, according to the 
severity of it ; because, whenever a cut is made on such 
green wood, the frost generally affects it, as the sap is not 
dense, nor the wood so firm, as to be able to resist its in- 
tenseness. 

Whatever method is adopted in training trees, care 
should be taken to keep the two sides as nearly equal as 
possible ; this may easily be done, whether they are trained 
in the fan or horizontal method. For espalier trees the hori- 
zontal method has many advantages over any other ; the 
small compass in which the trees are obliged to be kept, 
requires such a direction for the branches, in order to make 
them fruitful. And were very high trellises formed, so as to 
admit of the trees being trained in the fan method, such 
would be very objectionable, by reason of the shade they 
would cause, and the trees would also be deprived of the 
benefit of a warmer temperature, which those less elevated 
receive. 

As some young gardeners may not know what is meant 
bj €5paIie!'S, it may be necessary to explain, that espaliers 
are hedges of fruit trees, which are trained up regularly to a 
frame or trellis of wood work ; they produce large fruit 
plentifully, without taking up much room, and may be plant" 
ed in the Kitchen Garden without much inconvenience to its 
other products. For espalier fruit trees in the open ground, 
a trellis is absolutely necessary, and may either be formed 
of common stakes or poles, or of regular joinery work, ac- 
cording to taste or fancy. 

The implements employed in pruning, and the manner of 
using them, are matters of moment. If the operation is 
commenced when the tree is young, and judiciously followed 
up, a good knife, a small saw, a mallet, and a chisel fixed 
on a six-foot handle, to trim the tops and extremities of the 
branches, are all the tools that are required. A large saw 
will be occasionally wanted ; but an axe or hatchet should 
never be employed, as they fracture the wood, bruise and 
tear the bark, and disfigure the tree. 



221 



BUDDING AND GRAFTING FRUIT TREES. 

Budding and Grafting, Lindley observes, are operations 
that equally depend for their success upon the property that 
buds possess of shooting roots downwards and stems up- 
wards ; but in these practices, the roots strike between the 
bark and wood of the stock, instead of into the earth, and 
form new layers of wood, instead of subterranean fibres. 
The success of such practices, however, depends upon other 
causes than those which influence the growth of cuttings. 
It is necessary that an adhesion should take place between 
the scion and the stock, so that when the descending fibres 
of the buds shall have fixed themselves upon the wood of 
the stock, they may not be liable to subsequent separation. 
No one can have studied the economy of the vegetable king- 
dom, without having remarked that there is a strong ten- 
dency to cohesion in bodies or parts that are placed in con- 
tact with each other, 

BUDDING, OR INOCULATING. 

To bud trees, let the following method be adopted : pro- 
cure a knife which has a thin blade, and a sharp ivory 
Jiandle ; the use of the blade is to prepare the buds, and the 
handle is used to raise the bark of the stocks, so that the 
buds can be easily inserted. Have some good strong bass 
in readiness, and then take some good thrifty sprigs from 
healthy trees of the sorts you intend to propagate. When all 
is ready, make a cut in the bark of the stock transversely, 
and from the middle of this cut make another downwards, 
at least two inches in length, so that the two cuts may be in 
the form of a T ; then take one of your sprigs, and with ex- 
pedition proceed to take oft' a bud : this is effected by 
entering the knife a little more than half an inch below the 
bud or eye ; force your knife into the wood, drawing it under 
the bud, and cut the piece off across the shoot ; then imme- 
diately let that part of the wood which was cut off with the 
bud, be separated from it, which may be readily done with 
the knife, by placing the point of it between the bark and 

19* 



222 OBSERTATIONS ON 

wood at one end, and holding the bark in one hand, pull off 
the woody part with the other, which will readily come from 
the bark, if the tree from which it was taken be in vigorous 
condition. Examine the bark, so as to be satisfied that the 
bud remains perfect ; if there is no hole in it, let it be immedi- 
ately inserted into the stock, observing for the reception of it, 
to raise with the handle of your knife the bark of the stock 
downwards on each side from the cross cut, and thrust the 
bud in between the bark and the wood, applying it as close 
as possible. As soon as the bud is put in its place, tie it 
round securely w T ith the bass, beginning a little below the cut, 
and proceeding upwards, till you are above the cross cut, 
taking care to miss the eye of the bud, just that it may be 
seen through the bandage of the bass. About a week or 
ten days after the stocks have been budded, they should be 
examined, when such as have united will appear fresh and 
full, and those that have not taken will appear decayed ; in 
the former case the bandage may be left off, and in the latter 
case, the stock maybe budded in another place, provided the 
first operation was done in the month of July or early in 
August, as these are two the most preferable months for bud- 
ding fruit trees in general. Budding is, however, often 
attended with success, if done in September. 

Scallope Budding is performed by cutting from a small 
stock, a thin narrow scallope of wood, about an inch in length, 
and taking from a twig a thin scallope of wood, of the same 
length ; this is instantly applied, and fitted perfectly at top 
and bottom, and as nearly as possible on its sides, and firmly 
bound with wet bass matting. This mode may be practised 
in the spring, and if it fails, it may be done again in the 
month of July. The French practise this mode on roses. 

GRAFTING. 

This business is generally performed in March and 
April. There are various modes of grafting, but the fol- 
lowing are those most generally practised : 

Cleft Grafting. — This mode of grafting is generally 
practised on stocks of from one to two inches in diameter ; 



BUDDING AND GRAFTING. ^23 

and may be performed in the following manner : — Let the 
head of the stock be carefully sawed off at a part free from 
knots, and the top pared smooth ; then with a thin knife 
split down the stock through the centre, to the depth of 
about two inches, and insert a wedge to keep it open for the 
reception of the scion. The scion must be prepared in the 
form of a wedge, with an eye, if possible, in the upper part, 
and inserted carefully, so that the inner bark of the scion, 
and of the stock, may both exactly meet. Large stocks 
require two scions, one on each side, and sometimes four 
are inserted. When done, tie them firmly together with 
bass, and then cover the grafted part with well prepared 
clay, in an oval form, and close it securely. 

Side Grafting. — This mode is sometimes practised on 
those parts of a tree where a limb is wanting. There are 
two ways in which it may be performed. 1st. The scion 
may be prepared in the same manner as for splice grafting, 
and the bark and wood on the side of the stock cut sloping ; 
the scion being then adjusted as carefully as possible, must 
be bound on and covered with clay. 2d. The scion being 
cut sloping, a cross-cut is to be made in the side of the tree, 
on the top of a perpendicular slit ; the bark of the tree 
above the cross-cut, must be pared down slanting to the 
wood, and the bark raised, as in budding ; the scion being 
then inserted, it must be bound fast, and covered with clay. 

Splice, or Whip Grafting, — This mode is often prac- 
tised on small stocks, and it succeeds best when the scion 
and stock are of an equal size. The scion, which should 
consist of young wood of the former year's growth, may he 
cut to the length of about four inches. This and the stock 
are each to be cut sloping, for an inch or more, and tongued. 
Tongueing consists in cutting a slit in the middle of the 
slope of the stock downwards, and a corresponding slit in 
the scion upwards; both ave now to be joined, so that one 
of the sides, if not both, shall pefectly coincide, and then to 
be securely bound with bass matting, and covered with 
grafting clay, or composition. As soon as the scion and 
stock are completely united, the bass string may be removed. 

Saddle Grafting. — The celebrated Mr, Knight, prao- 



224 ON BUDDING AND GRAFTING. 

tises this mode of grafting on very small stocks. The upper 
part of the stock is prepared in the form of a wedge, by two 
sloping cuts, one on each side. The scion is prepared by 
splitting it upwards, and paring out the middle part on each 
side to a point. When the stock and scion are of equal 
size, the adjustment may be made perfect ; but if unequal, 
one side must exactly meet. The whole is secured by a 
string of bass matting, and covered with composition or 
clay ; but the string must be removed as soon as a perfect 
union has taken place. 

Root Grafting. — This operation is often performed on 
grape vines, just below the level of the surface, by the usual 
mode of cleft grafting. It is also performed on portions or 
pieces of root, where suitable stocks are scarce. 

Grafting by Approach. — The trees, or shrubs, to be 
grafted, must be growing very near to those which are to 
furnish the grafts. The limbs or branches of each tree, 
which is thus to be united, must be pared with a long slo- 
ping cut of several inches, nearly to its centre ; and the 
parts of each tree thus prepared, are to be brought together, 
and finally secured by a bandage of matting, so that the 
bark shall meet as nearly as possible. The graft may then 
be covered with clay or composition; and when a complete 
union has taken place, the trees or shrubs may be separated 
with a sharp knife, by cutting off below the junction. 

Grafting Clay may be made in the following manner : 
Take equal parts of fresh horse manure, free from litter, 
cow manure, and good stiff clay ; add to this a portion of 
hair, and work it together in the same manner as masons 
mix their mortar. It should be well beaten, and incorpo- 
rated several days before it is required to be used. 

To make Grafting Composition. — Take equal parts of 
rosin and beeswax, and a little tallow ; melt these together 
and mix them, then pour the composition into cold water, 
and as it hardens, take it out and work it up with the hands 
until it attains a due consistence. It may be spread on 
brown paper, which cut into strips of suitable size, is 
quickly applied, and in cool weather may be warmed by 
the breath, so as to become adhesive. * 



APPLE. 225 

0^ In preparing the following articles, the object has been 
to furnish such information as was thought best calculated 
to entertain, as well as to instruct the reader. Besides the 
authorities quoted, I have gleaned from those inexhaustible 
treasures to Horticulturists, Loudon's Encyclopaedia of 
Plants, and that of Gardening ; but on account of the 
brevity necessarily observed throughout this work, it has 
been found impracticable to give many entire extracts; 
suffice it to say, that the historical facts are generally 
collected from these sources. 



APPLE. 

Pommier. Pyrus malus. 

The Apple being so closely connected with our wants 
and enjoyments, is entitled to the first notice in the cata- 
logue of our fruits. The Apple orchard is in truth the 
vineyard of our country ; and the delicious beverage that 
can be obtained from some of the varieties of this excel- 
lent fruit being calculated to cheer the invalid, as well as 
to strengthen the healthy, entitles it to high consideration. 
It is one of our oldest and best fruits, and has become 
completely naturalized to our soil ; none can be brought to 
so high a degree of perfection with so little trouble ; and of 
no other are there so many excellent varieties in general 
cultivation, calculated for almost every soil, situation and 
climate, which our country affords. The Apple tree is 
supposed by some to attain a great age : Haller mentions 
some trees in Herefordshire, England, that attained a thou- 
sand years,and were highly prolific ; but Knight considers two 
hundred years as the ordinary duration of a healthy tree;, 
grafted on a crab stock, and planted in a strong tenacious 
soil. Speedily mentions a tree in an orchard at Burton- 
joice, near Nottingham, of about sixty years old, with 
branches extending from seven to nine yards round the bole, 
which in some seasons produced upwards of one hundred 
bushels of apples. 



226 APPLE. 

The Romans had only twenty-two varieties in Pliny's 
time. There are upwards of fifteen hundred now cultivated 
in the garden of the Horticultural Society of London, under 
name ; the catalogue of the Linnaean Botanic Garden at 
Flushing, contains over four hundred ; and one of our 
enterprising horticulturists, Mr. Wm. Coxe, of Burlington, 
New Jersey, enumerated one hundred and thirty-three kinds 
cultivated in the United States, some years ago. They are 
usually divided into dessert, baking, and cider fruits; the 
first high-flavoured, the second such as fall or become mel- 
low in baking or boiling, and the third austere, and 
generally fruit of small size. Besides this division, Apples 
are classed as pippins or seedlings, pearmains or somewhat 
pear-shaped fruits, rennets or queen-specked fruits, calviles 
or white skinned fruits, russets or brown fruits, codlings or 
falling fruits, and some are denominated burknots. 

The Apple may be propagated by layers, and many sorts 
by cuttings and budding, but the usual mode is by grafting 
on seedling stocks of two or three years growth, and for 
dwarfing on stocks of the Quince or paradise apple. All 
the principle varieties are cultivated as standards in the 
orchard, and should b« planted from thirly lu forty feet from 
each other, or from any other spreading trees, in order that 
the sun and air may have its due influence in maturing the 
fruit. 

Many of the dwarf kinds may be introduced into the 
Ritehen Garden, and trained as espaliers, or dwarf stan- 
dards. An Apple orchard may be planted at any time 
after the trees are two years old from the graft ; and as trees 
from young stocks will not come into full bearing until ten 
or twelve years old, they will bear removing with care at 
any time within that period. 

Old Apple trees may be grafted with superior varieties, by 
being headed down to standard height: in very old subjects, 
most commonly, the branches only are cut within a foot or 
two of the trunk, and then grafted in the crown or cleft man- 
ner. In all the varieties of the common Apple, the mode of 
bearing is upon small terminal and lateral spurs, or short 
robust shoots, from half an inch to two inches long, which 



APRICOT. 227 

spring from the younger branches of two or more years' 
growth, appearing at first at the extremity, and extending 
gradually to the side : the same bearing branches and fruit 
spurs continue many years fruitful. 

Pruning. — As from the mode of bearing, Apple trees do 
not admit of shortening in the general bearers, it should only 
be practised in extraordinary cases. If trees have not the 
most desirable form when three or four years old, they should 
be judiciously pruned to promote regular pruning branches. 
In annual pruning, the main branches should not be cut un- 
less in cases of decay ; but all superfluous cross branches and 
dead wood should be taken out, and the suckers eradicated* 
Espaliers require a summer and winter pruning. 



APRICOT. 

Abricotier. Prunus Armeniaca. 

The fruit of the Apricot is next in esteem to the Peach, and 
as it ripens three or four weeks earlier, should be more gene- 
rally cultivated. The flowers appear in April, on the shoots 
of the preceding year, and on spurs of two or more years 
growth, and the fruit ripens in July and August. The Lon- 
don Horticultural Society's catalogue describes fifty four sorts, 
and Messrs. Prince have forty-four in their catalogue ; besides 
these, is the Peach Apricot, a large fruit, supposed to be a 
hybrid between a Peach and an Apricot. 

Our enterprising fellow T - citizen, Mr. Wm. Shaw, has suc- 
ceeded for many years in maturing large quantities of this 
excellent fruit on standards ; but they ripen best when trained 
against close fences. In England some of the varieties are 
cultivated as standards and espaliers ; they seldom bear much 
fruit under ten or twelve years ; and then the fruit is abundant 
and of the finest flavour. They are commonly cultivated as 
wall trees, in an east or west aspect ; for if they are planted to 
face the south, the great heat causes them to be mealy before 
they are eatable. New varieties are procured from seed, as in 



228 APKICOT. 

the Peach, and approved sorts are perpetuated^by budding 
on plum stocks, &c. 

The varieties of the Apricot, in general, bear chiefly upon 
the young shoots of last year, and casually upon small spurs 
rising on the two or three years old fruit branches. The 
Moor Park bears chiefly on the last year's shoots, and on close 
spurs formed on the two year old wood. The bearing shoots 
emit the blossom buds immediately from the eyes along the 
sides, and the buds have a round and swelling appearance. 

Apricot trees may be planted at any time after the head is 
formed : some head them down in the nursery bed, and re- 
move them to their destined places when five or six years old. 

Standards will require only occasional pruning to regulate 
such branches as may be too numerous, too extended or cross 
formed, and to remove any casually unfruitful parts and dead 
wood ; but the regular branches, forming the head of the 
tree, should not be shortened unless necessary. 

The general culture of the wall Apricots comprehends a 
summer and winter course of regulation, by pruning and 
training. The fan method is generally adopted, but some 
prefer training horizontally. With young trees some contrive 
to fill the wall by heading down twice a year. 

The winter, or early spring management, comprehends a 
general regulation both of the last year's shoots and the older 
branches. A general supply of the most regularly situated 
young shoots must be every where retained, for successional 
bearers the ensuing year. Gut out such branches as are not 
furnished with competent supplies of young wood, or with 
fruit spurs, to make room for training a general supply of the 
most promising branches retained. Generally observe in this 
pruning to retain one leading shoot at the end of each branch ; 
either a naturally placed terminal, or one formed by cutting 
(where a vacancy is to be furnished) into a proper leader- 
Let the shoots retained for bearers be moderately shortened : 
reduce strong shoots in the least proportioned — cutting off 
one-fourth or less of their length; from weak shoots take 
away a third, and sometimes a half. This shortening will 
conduce to the production of a competency of lateral shoots 



APRICOT. 229 

the ensuing summer, from the lower and middle placed eyes ■ 
whereas without it, the new shoots would proceed mostly from 
the top, and leave the underpart of the principal branches 
naked, and the lower and middle parts of the tree unfur- 
nished with proper supplies of bearing wood. Never prune 
below all the blossom buds, except to provide wood, in 
which case cut nearer to the origin of the branch. As, in 
these trees, small fruit spurs, an inch or two long, often 
appear on some of the two or three years' branches furnished 
with blossom buds, these spurs should generally be retained 
for bearing. As each tree is pruned, nail it, laying in the 
branches and shoots from three to six inches distance, 
straight or close to the fence or wall. 

The summer pruning is principally to regulate the young 
shoots of the same year. In the first place, take off close 
all the irregular foremost shoots, taking care to retain a 
competent supply of choice side shoots, with a good leader 
to each parent branch. Continue these mostly at full length 
all the summer, regularly trained in, to procure a sufficiency 
to choose from in the general winter pruning, for new 
bearers the next year. 

If the summer regulation commences early, while the 
shoots are quite young, and, as it were, herbaceous, those 
improper to retain may be detached with the ringer and 
thumb ; but when of firmer growth, they must be removed 
with the knife. If any very strong shoots rise in any part 
where the wood is deficient, they may be topped in June, 
which will cause them to produce several laterals the same 
year, eligible for training in, to supply the vacancy. 

Sometimes the fruit is much too numerous, if not attacked 
by insects, often growing in clusters ; in which case thin 
them while in a young green state, leaving the most pro- 
minent fruit singly, at three or four inches distance, or from 
about two to six on the respective shoots, according to their 
strength. The Apricots so thinned off, and the first prin- 
cipal green fruit, are very fine for tarts. 



20 



230 
ALMOND. 

Amandier. Amygdalus. 

Although Almonds are not much cultivated in this part 
of our country, they are entitled to notice. The species 
are fruit trees, or ornamental trees and shrubs, both much 
esteemed for the gay colour and early appearance of their 
flowers ; these vary in their colour from the fine blush of 
the Apple blossom to a snowy whiteness. The chief 
obvious distinction is in the fruit, which is flatter, with a 
coriaceous covering, instead of the rich pulp of the Peach 
and Nectarine, opening spontaneously when the kernel is 
ripe. It is a native of Barbary, China, and most eastern 
countries. There are twenty-one sorts described in the 
catalogue of the Linnsean Botanic Garden at Flushing ; 
some of which are represented as new kinds from France 
and Italy, where they are cultivated extensively for their 

fruit. 

In France, they have above a dozen species or varieties, 
besides a hybrid, called the Almond Peach. The common 
and bitter Almond are only to be distinguished by the taste 
of the kernels of their fruit, which is the only part used. 
The tender -shelled is in the greatest esteem, and next, the 
sweet and Jordan. The bitter cuticle, or skin of Almonds, 
is taken oft* by immersion in boiling water. 

The sweet Almond and other varieties are used as a des- 
sert in a green or imperfectly ripe, and also in a ripe or 
dried state. They are much used in cookery, confectionary, 
perfumery, and medicine. 

The Almond is propagated by seed, for varieties, or 
for stocks ; and by budding on its own, or on Plum 
stocks, for continuing varieties. The Almond tree bears 
chiefly on the young wood of the previous year, and in 
part upon small spurs or minor branches ; it is therefore 
pruned like the Apricot and Peach, and its culture in other 
respects is the same. 



231 
CHERRY. 

Cerisier. Prunus cerasus. 

The Cherry, of the cultivated varieties, is said to have 
been first introduced into Italy in the year 73, from a town 
in Pontus, in Asia, called Cerasus, whence its specific 
name ; and it was introduced into Britain one hundred and 
twenty years afterwards. 

The Romans had eight varieties of Cherries, red, black, 
tender-fleshed, hard-fleshed, small bitter flavoured, and 
heart-shaped. There are now upwards of two hundred in 
cultivation. The French divide their Cherries into griottes, 
or tender-fleshed ; bigareaux, or heart-fleshed ; and guignes, 
or small fruits. The fruit of many varieties is somewhat 
heart-shaped, whence they are called ox heart, white heart, 
black heart, &c. ; why some sorts are called dukes, is not 
so obvious. The morello cherry is very different from the 
other varieties, bearing almost exclusively from the prece- 
ding years' wood, and the pulp of the fruit having the 
consistence and flavour of the fungi called morel ; whence 
the name. The Chinese Cherry is valuable on account of 
its bearing an excellent fruity and producing it abundantly 
in forcing-houses. 

Cherries are grafted, or budded on seedlings from Cherry 
stones, and from seedlings of the red and black mazzard. 
For dwarfing they are worked on the morello, or perfumed 
Cherry ; the latter is preferred in Holland. 

Cherry trees, in general, produce the fruit upon small 
spurs or studs, from half an inch to two inches in length, 
which proceed from the sides and ends of the two year, 
three year, and older branches, and as new spurs continue 
shooting from the extreme parts, it is a maxim in pruning 
both standards and espaliers, not to shorten the bearing 
branches when there is room for their regular extension. 

The morello is in some degree an exception, as it bears 
principally on the shoots of the preceding year, the fruit 
proceeding immediately from the eyes of shoots; and 
bears but casually, and in a small degree, on close spurs 
formed on the two year old wood, and scarcely ever on 



232 CHESTNUT. 

wood of the third year, therefore, in pruning, leave a supply 
of young shoots on all the branches from the origin to the 
extremity of the tree, for next year's bearers. 

All kinds of Cherry trees, except the morello, are apt to 
grow very tall ; to remedy this, and to enable them to form 
handsome heads, the leading shoot should be cut off, when 
about three years' growth from the bud ; after which give 
only occasional pruning, to reform or remove any casual 
irregularity from cross-placed or very crowded branches, 
and take away all cankery and decayed wood. 

Dwarf Cherry trees may be introduced into the Kitchen 
Garden, and trained as espaliers, &c. When morellos are 
planted in an orchard, they may be placed from fifteen to 
twenty feet apart ; trees of the duke kind may be planted 
from twenty -five to thirty feet apart ; and the heart-shaped, 
in general, will require to be from thirty to forty feet from 
each other, or from any other spreading trees. 

Cherry trees may be removed the first year after the bud 
is established ; but they will bear removing at any time 
before they come into bearing, which is about the fifth year. 

"The gum which exudes from Cherry trees is equal to 
gum arabic ; and Hasselquist relates, that more than one 
hundred men, during a siege, were kept alive for nearly 
two months, without any other sustenance than a little of 
this gum taken sometimes into the mouth, and suffered 
gradually to dissolve." The wood is hard and tough, and 
used by the turner and cabinet-maker. 



CHESTNUT. 

Chataigner. Castanea. 

The Chestnut is well known as a large tree, spreading 
its branches finely where it has room, but planted closely, 
will shoot up straight to a great height. It is supposed to 
have been originally from Sardis. It is so common as to 
be considered a native of France and Italy, and some con- 
sider it as naturalized in England ; it is also indigenous in 



CRANBERRY. 233 

America. The London catalogue contains the names of 
:hirty-two sorts under cultivation. The Chestnut is like 
the Walnut, both a timber and fruit tree ; seme of the oldest 
trees in the world are of this species. The American 
Chestnut differs so little from the European, that no specific 
distinction can be drawn. It is one of the largest trees of 
the forest, the wood being extremely durable, and in high 
esteem for posts and rails to construct fences ; and the nuts 
are very delicious. The Caitanea j)um\la % or Chinquapin 
nut, is a small tree, or rather shrub, growing to the height 
of thirty feet in the Southern States, but seldom exceeding 
ten in cold latitudes; the fruit is very sweet and agreeable 
to eat. 

There is a variety with striped leaves, which is very 
ornamental. The most esteemed of the French kinds are 
called marron. Some excellent fruit-bearing varieties are 
cultivated in England, France, Italy and Spain, as also in 
other parts of Europe ; these arc increased by grafting or 
budding in the usual methods, but the plants for coppice 
wood, or timber, are best raised from nuts. Some varieties 
ripen their fruit a few days earlier than others, but none of 
these have been fixed on, or perpetuated by nurserymen, so 
as to render them available by purchasers. The fruit is a 
desirable nut for autumn and winter, and is eaten roasted, 
with salt, and sometimes raw; and in some countries it is 
not only boiled and roasted, but ground into meal; and 
puddings, cakes, and bread, are made from it. 



CRANBERRY. 

Canneberge. Qzycocus. 

This genus of plants is well distinguished from the 
Vaccinium, or Whortleberry, by the narrow revolute seg- 
ments of corolla ; and are pretty little trailing evergreen 
plants, to which a peat soil, and rather a moist situation are 
absolutely necessary. They are very little changed by 
culture. 30* 



234 CRANBERRY. 

The Oxycocus macrocarpus is a red acid fruit, highly 
valued as a sweetmeat, or for tarts. It is well known that 
this excellent fruit grows in many parts of our country 
spontaneously ; and that the mere gathering it, is all that 
bountiful nature requires at our hands ; but it is well worth 
cultivating where there are none. This fruit will keep a 
whole year, if properly preserved in close covered stone 
jars, and is considered, by many, as superior to the best 
currant jelly, and may be kept for many months in a raw 
state without injury. 

The Oxycocus palustris bears edible berries, which are 
gathered wild both in England and Scotland, and made 
into tarts, Lightfoot says, " twenty or thirty pounds' worth 
are sold each market day, for five or six weeks together in 
the town of Langtown,on the borders of Cumberland." 

Nicol says, the American species is more easily cultivated 
than the English, but is inferior to it in flavour. There is 
reason to believe that the quality of the fruit of each of 
these species is subject to variations, which have not yet 
been practically distinguished. Their cultivation is now so 
well understood, that they may be both considered with 
propriety as inmates of the fruit garden. 

It is customary in England to prepare beds on the edges 
of ponds, which are banked up so as to admit of the wet 
getting underneath them ; bog or peat earth is considered 
essential for the roots to run in, but it has been discovered 
that they can be cultivated in damp situations of a garden, 
with a top dressing of peat or bog earth, and if they are 
once suited as to the soil, the plants will multiply so as to 
cover the bed in the course of a year or two, by means of 
their long runners, which take root at different points. 
From a very small space a very large quantity of Cranberries 
may be gathered ; and they prove a remarkably regular 
crop, scarcely affected by the state of the weather, and not 
subject to the attacks of insects. Sir Joseph Banks gives 
an account in (Hort. Trans. 1. 71,) of his success in culti- 
vating this fruit. " In one year, viz., 1813, from 326 square 
feet, or a bed about eighteen feet square, three and a half 
Winchester bushels of berries were produced, which, at five 



CURRANT. 235 

bottles to the gallon, gives one hundred and forty bottles, 
each sufficient for one cranberry pie, from two and a half 
square feet." 



CURRANT. 

Groseiller a grappes. Ribes. 

This is a genus of well knbwn shrubs, much cultivated 
for their fruit. It is a native of the northern parts of 
Europe, and found in hedges and woods in England ; and 
there are some species indigenous in America. The fruit, 
being of an agreeable sub-acid taste, is generally relished, 
both as a dessert, and in pies and tarts ; it is also much 
used in making wine, and is grown to a considerable extent 
for that purpose in Essex, Kent, and about Pershore, in 
Worcestershire, England. There are ten species cultiva- 
ted in the garden of the Horticultural Society of London, 
comprising twelve varieties of red, ten of white, five kinds 
of black, together with champagne, mountain, rock, 
upright, Pennsylvanian, <fcc. Any number of varieties of 
the red and white may be procured from sowing the seeds, 
but they are generally propagated by cuttings of the last 
years wood, which should be of sufficient length to form 
handsome plants, with a clear stem, ten inches high. 
They will grow in almost any soil, but prosper best in one 
loamy and rich. The best flavoured fruit is produced from 
plants in an open free situation, but they will grow under 
the shade of walls or trees, and either as low bushes, 
or trained as espaliers. They bear chiefly on spurs, and on 
young wood, of from one to three years' growth, and there- 
fore, in pruning, most of the young wood should be cut to 
within two or three buds of that where it originated. After 
the plants are furnished with full heads, they produce many 
superfluous and irregular shoots every summer, crowding 
the general bearers, so as to require regulating, and curtail- 
ing, both in the young growth of the year, and old wood. 
The principal part of the work may be done in winter, or 



236 CURRANT. 

early in ihe spring ; but a preparatory part should be per- 
formed in summer, to eradicate suckers, and thin the su- 
perfluous shoots of the year, where they are so crowded as 
to exclude the sun and air from the fruit. In training 
espaliers and for standards, two branches are laid in a 
horizontal direction along the bottom of the trellis, perhaps 
half a foot from the surface of the earth, and the growth 
from these of all upright shoots, which will admit of being 
arranged at the distance of five or six inches of each other, 
is encouraged. Fan standards are sometimes trained w T ith 
the branches radiating from the crown of the stem 

The black Currant, or Ribes nigrum, is common in moist 
woods in Russia and Siberia ; its culture is similar to that 
of the red, but as it is less apt to bear on spurs than on 
young wood, the shoots should not be so much shortened 
in this as in the other. 

Currant bushes will require to be planted at different 
distances, according to the situation and mode of training, 
&c. When planted in beds, borders, or squares, they 
should be six feet apart, but if trained as espaliers, they 
will require to be eight feet apart. 

Many people dislike the favour of black Currants, they 
are, therefore, not much used in the kitchen or dessert, and 
seldom in wine making. They make a jelly or jam, in 
estimation as a gargle for inflammatory sore throats. " In 
Russia and Siberia, wine is made of the berries alone, or 
fermented with honey, and with or without spirits. In 
Siberia they make a drink of the leaves ; these tincture 
common spirits so as to resemble brandy, and a few of them 
dried and mixed with black tea, answer all the purposes of 
the green material." — (Loudon.) 

All kinds of Currants may be forced by placing them in 
any forcing department in January or February ; they will 
produce ripe fruit in April and May. 



237 
FIG. 

Figuier. JFicus carica. 

There are many species of the Fig, which are all natives 
of warm climates. In some parts of Asia, and in the South 
of Europe, they are always grown as standards ; and the 
fruit, green and dried, forms an important part of the food 
of the inhabitants. The London Horticultural catalogue 
contains the names of seventy-five sorts ; and Messrs. 
Prince, of Flushing, have upwards of forty in their collec- 
tion, some of which are select sorts from France and Italy. 
It is cultivated in England as a fruit tree, and, in warm 
situations, will ripen its fruit in the open air. In Sussex, 
on the sea-coast, it ripens its fruit on standards. Some of 
the best in England, are at Arundel Castle ; and there is a 
Fig orchard of one hundred trees at Tarring, near Worthing. 
Those at Arundel are planted six or eight feet apart, and 
from a single stem allowed to continue branching conical 
heads, pruning chiefly irregular and redundant growths, and 
cutting out decayed or injured wood, 

The Fig tree may be propagated from seed, cuttings, 
layers, suckers, roots, and by grafting ; the most generally 
approved method is by layers or cuttings, which come into 
bearing the second, and sometimes the first year. No tree 
is more robust or more prolific ; even plants in pots or tubs, 
kept in a temperature adapted for the Orange tree, will fruit 
freely, and ripen two crops a year, and by being taken care 
of through the winter, will go on growing and ripening fruit 
without intermission. 

When the Fig is planted in a garden, a good loamy soil 
should be provided ; and it may be trained to close fences, 
or trellises, in sheltered situations. At the approach of 
winter they must be protected ; those trained to close fences 
may be secured through the winter, by a covering of matting ; 
and such as may be in open situations should be liberated 
from the trellis, and laid down close to the ground, and 
covered three or four inches with earth ; or trenches may 
be formed of that depth, sufficient to contain the branches, 



238 FILBERT AND HAZLENUT. 

which should be fastened down with hooked pegs, without 
cramping them : such of the strong central branches as will 
not bend, may be enveloped in litter. They should be 
pruned before they are laid down in November, and on 
being raised again in April, they may be trained as before. 
Figs may be cultivated in private gardens as easily as 
the vine. 



FILBERT AND HAZLENUT. 

NoiSETIER AVELINIER. CorylllS. 

Thf. Filbert, in many varieties, and also the common 
Hazli nut, grow spontaneously in the woods of Britain, and 
some ft'w varieties are indigenous in this country. The 
kinds of Filberts generally cultivated, are the white, red, cob, 
clustered, and frizzled; of each of which there are many 
varieties. As this shrub is so easily cultivated, it is a matter 
€)f astonishment that the nuts from this genus of plants are 
so scarce in our markets. In different parts of England 
there arc Filbert orchards. In the Filbert grounds about 
Maidstone, in Kent, it is a prevailing practice to cultivate 
Hops, standard Apples, and Cherries, among the Filberts; 
when these come into a bearing state, the Hops are taken 
up and transplanted elsewhere, and the fruit trees only 
suffered to remain. The spare ground is then planted with 
Gooseberries, Currants, &c. The red Filbert is allowed to 
h ive a finer flavour than the white. The cob-nut is large, 
with a thick shell, but the kernel is sweet, and of consider- 
able size. The Barcelona is a good large nut, with a thin 
shell. The Crossford is very sweet, kernels well, and the 
tree is a great bearer. 

All the different kinds may be grown as dwarf standards ; 
or they will bear very well if planted in clumps ; but as 
they produce an abundance of suckers, these should be 
parted off frequently, and planted in a nursery bed for 
stocks ; as the bearing plants will cease to produce fruit in 
any quantity, if the suckers are allowed to form a thick 



GOOSEBERRY. 239 

bush. They may be propagated by seed, by suckers, 
by layers, or by grafting in the spring upon seedling or 
sucker stocks. 

The Filbert bears principally upon the sides of the upper 
young branches, and from small shoots which proceed from 
the bases of side branches cut off the preceding year. The 
leading shoot is every year to be shortened, and every 
shoot that is left to produce fruit should be clipped ; .which 
prevents the tree from being exhausted in making wood at 
the end of the branch. — Such branches as may have borne 
fruit, must be cut out every year, in order to promote the 
growth of a supply of young fruit-bearing branches. 



GOOSEBERRY. 

Groseiller. Ribes grossularia, nva crispa, etc. 

The Gooseberry is a native of several parts of Europe, 
and is indigenous in America, as far north as 68°. It is 
cultivated in greater perfection in England than in any 
other part of the world. In Spain and Italy, this fruit 
is scarcely known. In France it is neglected. In Lan- 
cashire, England, and some parts of the adjoining counties, 
almost every cottager cultivates the Gooseberry, with a view 
to prizes given at what are called Gooseberry Prize Meet- 
ings ; of these, there is annually published an account, 
with the names and weight of the successful sorts, in what 
is called the Manchester Gooseberry Book. The prizes 
vary from ten shillings to five and ten pounds sterling. 
There are meetings held in the spring to "make up," as the 
term is, the sorts, the persons, and the conditions of exhi- 
bition ; and in August to weigh and taste the fruit, and 
determine the prizes. 

In Lindley's Guide to the Orchard and Fruit Garden, 
722 varieties are described ; from which the following are 
selected, as in most repute for size, flavour, and other good 
qualities : 



240 GOOSEBERRY. 

REDS. 

British Crown. — This variety is noted as being a fine flavoured fruit, 
especially for tarts. 33 prizes had been awarded for it in 1829 ; the largest 
berry weighing 18 pennyweights and 10 grains. 

Champagne. — The fruit of this variety is held in great esteem for its 
delicious flavour; the berry is of medium size, somewhat oblong and hairy. 

Capper's Top Sawyek. — This is a late fruit, of oblong shape, and 
hairy near the base. 171 prizes were obtained for this> in 1828 and 9 ; the 
heaviest berry weighing 22 dwts. 17 grains. 

Crown Bob, Melling's. — This variety won 85 prizes in two seasons ; 
the largest berry weighing 21 dwts. 12 grains. It is a late fruit, of oblong 
shape, bright red colour, and hairy. 

Huntsman. — This variety, which originated with Mr. Bratherton> took 
216 prizes in 1828 and 9 ; the heaviest berry weighing 24 dwts. 

Lancashire Lad, Hartshorn's. — 156 prizes were awarded for this 
variety in two years ; the heaviest berry weighing 20 dwts. 11 grains. 

Marciuis of Stafford, Knight's. — This much esteemed late variety, is 
hairy, of medium size, bright red colour, and delicious flavour. 

Prince Regknt, Boardman's.— This variety won 141 prizes in two 
seasons ; the heaviest berry weighing 22 dwts. 11 grains. 

Roaring Lion, Farmer's,---^ 1828, 349 prizes were awarded for thi3 
variety ; and in 1829 it won 453 prizes ; the largest berry weighing 29 dwts.; 
since which time, berries have been known to weigh over one ounce and a 
half each. 

Sir John Cotgrave, Bratherton's.-'-TIiis variety took 343 prizes in 
two seasons ; the heaviest berry weighing 25 dwts. 2 grains. 



YELLOWS. 

Bunker's Hill, Capper's.— 210 prizes were awarded for this variety in 
two years ; the heaviest berry weighing 20 dwts. 2 grains. 

Britannia. — This variety is noted for its earliness and delicious flavour. 
The fruit is of medium size, weighing about 18 dwts. 

Cottage Girl, Heaps's,— This variety won 133 prizes in two seasons; 
the largest berry weighing 19 dwts. 14 grains. 

Gunner, Hardcastle's.— 192 prizes were given for this variety in 1828; 
and in 1829, 181 prizes were awarded; the heaviest berry weighing 24 dwts. 
5 grains ; fruit rather late. 

Rockwood, Prophet's.— The fruit of this variety is very early ; it is of a 
roundish oblong shape, and slightly hairy. It won 303 prizes in two years ; 
the largest berry weighing 21 dwts. 3 grains. 

Sovereign, Bratherton's.-202 prizes were obtained for this variety in 
two seasons; the heaviest berry weighing 22 dwts. 17 grains. 

Viper, Gordon's.— This is an early smooth fruit, and won 87 prizes in 
two years ; the largest berry weighing 18 dwts. 5 grains. 



GOOSEBERRY. 241 



GREENS. 



Angler, Collier's.— 365 prizes were awarded for this variety in two 
seasons ; the heaviest berry weighing 20 dwts. 1 grain. 

Early Green, Hairy.— This variety is described in the Pomological 
Magazine as a very early fruit; it is round, hairy, of deep green colour, 
and excellent flavour, but not large. 

Favourite, Bates's.— 235 prizes were given for this variety in two 
years ; the heaviest berry weighing 18 dwts. 20 grains. 

Greenwood, Berry's.— This variety obtained 204 prizes in two sea- 
sons; the largest berry weighing 17 dwts. 4 grains. It is a deliriously 
flavoured fruit. 

Independent, Bigg's.— 121 piizes were given for this variety in two 
years; the largest berry weighing 16 dwts. 4 grains. It is an early rich 
fruit. 

Ocean, Wainman's.— This variety won 278 prizes in two seasons; the 
heaviest berry weighing 18 dwts. 8 grains. The fruit is oblong and smooth. 

Troubler, Moore's ---160 prizes were taken for this variety in two 
years; the largest berry weighing 17 dwts. 13 grains. 



WHITES. 

Bonny Lass, Capper's.— This variety won 167 prizes in two seasons- 
the heaviest berry weighing 21 dwts. 10 grains. 

Cheshire Lass, Saunders's.— This is one of the earliest varieties* and 
makes excellent tarts. The fruit is large, ob!ong,downy, and fine flavoured^ 

Governess. Bratherton's. — 124 prizes were awarded for this variety 
in two years; the largest berry weighing 24 dwts. 

Lady Delamere, Wylds's — This variety took 253 prizes in two sea* 
sons; the heaviest berry weighing 22 dwts 6 grains. 

Nailer, Blomiley's.--134 prizes were given for this variety in two 
seasons ; the largest berry weighing 18 dwts. 12 grains. 

Q,ueen Caroline.— This variety won 142 prizes in two years ; the 
heaviest berry weighing 18 dwts. 1 grain. It is a richly flavoured fruit. 

Wellington's Glory.- -173 prizes were obtained in two seasons for 
this variety ; the largest berry weighing 20 dwts. 4 grains. 

White. Eagle.— This variety gained 476 prizes in two seasons ; the 
heaviest berry weighing 23 dwts 12 grains. 

White Lion, Chelworth's.— 102 prizes were given for this variety in 
two years; the largest berry weighing 18 dwts. 22 gtains. The fruit is 
late, slightly hairy, and excellent for tarts. 

Whitesmith, Woodward's.— This is a small early berry, weighing 
about 14 dwts. The skin is downy, and the fruit is fully equal to any 
gooseberry of its colour. 

21 



242 GOOSEBERRY. 

The Gooseberry may be propagated by all the modes 
applicable to trees or shrubs, but that by cuttings is usually 
adopted for continuing varieties, and that by seed for pro- 
curing them. The cuttings should be taken from promising 
shoots just before the leaves begin to fall in the autumn ; 
the greatest part of the buds should be taken off, leaving 
only two or three buds on the top. Cut them at such a 
length as the strength and ripeness of the wood will bear ; 
and plant them in good pulverized soil. On the approach 
of winter, lay some moss or litter around them; and, by 
being well cultivated, they will be fit to transplant when 
they are a year old. When bushes are procured from the 
public nurseries, let the general supply be in such kinds as 
will ripen in succession. They may be planted in the 
kitchen garden, in single rows, along the sides of the walks 
or paths, or in compartments by themselves, in rows from 
six to eight feet apart from row to row, and five or six feet 
apart in the rows ; or in small gardens, they may be trained 
to a single tall stem, and tied to a stake : this, though six 
or eight feet high, occasions scarcely any shade, and it does 
not occupy much room, nor exclude air, while, at the same 
time, the stem becomes closely hung with berries, and makes 
a pleasant appearance in that state. Persons of taste may 
train them on arched trellises,which, if judiciously managed, 
the ground around them may be more easily cultivated ; 
the fruit may be kept from being splashed with rain, and 
may be easily gathered when wanted, of preserved by 
shading with mats, &c. Those who may have a choice of 
soil and site, should fix on a good, rich loamy earth, and 
plant some of the choice kinds in a northern and eastern 
aspect, near the fence, to come late in succession. 

The Gooseberry produces its fruit not only on the shoots 
of the preceding year, and on shoots two or three years old, 
but also on spurs or snags arising from the older branches 
along the sides ; but the former afford the largest fruit. 
The shoots retained for bearers should therefore be left at 
full length, or nearly so ; the first pruning should be done 
before the buds swell, so as not to endanger their being 



GOOSEBERRY. 243 

rubbed off in the operation. Cut out all superfluous cross 
shoots, and prune long ramblers and low stragglers to some 
well placed lateral or eye : retain a sufficiency of the young 
well situated laterals and terminals, to form successional 
bearers. In cutting out superfluous and decayed wood, be 
careful to retain a leading shoot at the end of a principal 
branch. The superfluous young laterals on the good main 
branches, instead of being taken off clean, may be cut into 
little stubs of one or two eyes, which will send out fruit 
buds and spurs. Some persons not pruning the Gooseberry 
bush on right principles, cause it to shoot crowdedly full of 
young wood in summer, from which the fruit is always 
small, and does not ripen freely with full flavour ; on 
which account it is an important point in pruning, to keep 
the middle of the head open and clear, and to let the 
occasional shortening of the shoots be sparing and moderate. 
Between the bearing branches keep a regulated distance of 
at least six inches at the extremities, which will render 
them fertile bearers of good fruit. 

The prize cultivators of this fruit in Lancashire, are 
particular in preparing a very rich soil, and they water 
occasionally with liquor which drains from dunghills ; and 
there are some, who, not content with watering at the root 
and over the top, place a small saucer of water under each 
Gooseberry, only six or eight of which are left on a bush ; 
this is technically called suckling. — There are others that 
ring some of the branches ; this is done by cutting out small 
circles of bark round them, and by pinching off a great 
part of the young wood, the strength is thrown to the fruit. 

Unripe Gooseberries may be preserved in bottles against 
winter: some after filling the bottles in a dry state, stand 
them in a slow oven, or in hot water, so as to heat them 
gradually through without cracking them ; they will keep 
a whole year, if closely corked and sealed, as soon as cold. 

The Gooseberry may be forced in pots or boxes, placed 
in pits, or in the peach house or vinery. "Hay, plants in 
pots in November, removes to the peach-house in January, 



244 GRAPE. 



and has ripe fruit in the end of April, which he sends to 
table growing on the plants." — (Hort. Trans. 4. 415.) 



GRAPE. 

Vigne. Vitis, viniferay vulpina. 

The Grape Vine is described by Loudon, as a trailing 
deciduous hardy shrub, with a twisted irregular stem, and 
long flexible branches, decumbent, like those of the bramble, 
or supporting themselves when near other trees, by means 
of tendrils, like the pea. The leaves are large, lobed, 
entire, or serrated and downy, or smooth, green in summer, 
but when mature, those of varieties in which the predomina- 
ting colour is red, constantly change to, or are tinged with 
some shade of that colour; and those of white, green, 
or yellow grapes, as constantly change to a yellow, and are 
never in the least tinged either with purple, red, or scarlet. 
The breadth of the leaves varies from five to seven or 
ten inches, and the length of the foot stalks from four 
to eight inches. The flowers are produced on the shoots of 
the same year, which shoots generally proceed from those 
of the year preceding: they are in the form of a raceme, of 
a greenish white colour, and fragrant odour, appearing in 
the open air in June ; and the fruit, which is of the berry 
kind, attains such maturity as the season and situation 
admit, by the middle or end of September. The berry, or 
grape, is generally globular, but often ovate, oval, oblong, 
or finger-shaped ; the colours green, red, yellow, amber, and 
black, or a variegation of two or more of these colours. 
The skin is smooth, the pulp and juice of a dulcet, poignant, 
elevated, generous flavour. Every berry ought to enclose 
five small heart, or pear-shaped stones ; though, as some 
generally fail, they have seldom more than three, and some 
varieties, as they attain a certain age, as the Ascalon, 
or sultana raisin, none. The weight of a berry depends not 
only on its size, but on the thickness of its skin and texture 



GRAPE. 345 

of the flesh, the lightest being the thin-skinned and juicy 
sorts, as the sweet water or muscadine ; and what are con- 
sidered as large-berried of these varieties, will weigh from 
five to seven penny-weights, and measure from one to two- 
thirds of an inch in girth. A good sized bunch of the same 
sorts may weigh from two to six pounds ; but bunches have 
been grown of the Syrian grape, in Syria, weighing forty 
pounds, and in England weighing from ten to nineteen 
pounds. A single Vine in a large pot, or grown as a dwarf 
standard, in the manner practised in the vineyards in the 
north of France, ordinarily produces from three to nine 
bunches : but by superior management in gardens in Eng- 
land, the number of bunches is prodigiously increased, and 
one plant, that of the red Hamburgh sort, in the vinery of 
the royal gardens at Hampton Court, has produced two 
thousand two hundred bunches, averaging one pound each, 
or in all nearly a ton. That at Valentine, in Essex, has 
produced two thousand bunches of nearly the same average 
weight. 

The age to which the Vine will attain in warm climates 
is so great as not to be known. It is supposed to be equal, 
or even to surpass that of the Oak, Pliny speaks of a Vine 
which had existed six hundred years ; and Bose says, there 
are Vines in Burgundy upwards of four hundred years 
of age. 

In Italy there are vineyards which have been in a flourish- 
ing state for upwards of three centuries, and Miller tells us, 
that a vineyard a hundred years old is reckoned young. 
The extent of the branches of the Vine, in certain situations 
and circumstances, is commensurate with its produce and 
age. In the hedges of Italy, and woods of America, they 
are found overtopping the highest Elm and Poplar trees ; 
and in England one plant trained against a row of houses 
in Northallerton (lately dead) covered a space, in 1585, of 
one hundred and thirty-seven square yards ; it was then 
above one hundred years old. That at Hampton Court, 
nearly of the same age, occupies above one hundred and 
sixteen square yards ; and that at Valentine, in Essex, 

21* 



246 GRAPE. 

above one hundred and forty-seven square yards. The 
size to which the trunk, or stem, sometimes attains in 
warm climates, is so great, as to have afforded planks 
fifteen inches broad, furniture, and statues ; and the Nor- 
thallerton Vine, above-mentioned in 1785, measured four 
feet in circumference near the ground, and one branch of 
the Hampton Court Vine measures one hundred and four- 
teen feet in length. Vine timber is of great durability. 

The varieties of the Grape in countries where it is grown 
for the wine press, are as numerous as the vineyards ; for as 
these for the most part differ in soil, aspect, elevation, 
or otherwise, and as the Vine is greatly the child of 
local circumstances, its habits soon become adapted to those 
in which it is placed. When it-is considered that a vine- 
yard once planted will last two or three centuries, it will 
readily be conceived that the nature of a variety may 
be totally changed during only a part of that time. The 
varieties mostly in esteem for wine making, are small 
berries, and bunches with an austere taste. The Burgundy, 
as modified by different soils and situations, maybe con- 
sidered the most general vineyard Grape of France, from 
Champagne or Marne, to Marseilles or Bordeaux. 

The best wine in Italy and Spain is also made from 
Grapes of this description ; but in both countries many of 
the larger berried sorts are grown on account of their pro- 
ducing more liquor. The sweet wines, as the Malmsey, 
Madeira, Constantia, Tokay, &c. are made from sweet- 
berried grapes allowed to remain on the plants till over-ripe. 
That wine is the strongest, and has most flavour, in which 
both the skins and stones are bruised and fermented. The 
same thing is the case in making cider; but in both 
processes bruising the stones or kernels is often neglected. 
The vine was formerly extensively cultivated in Britain for 
the wine press, but its culture is now confined to the garden 
as a dessert fruit ; and they have in that country not only 
the best varieties, but they grow the fruit to a larger size, 
and of a higher flavour, than is done any where else in the 
world : this is owing to the perfection of their artificial 



GRAPE. 247 

climates, and the great attention paid to soil and sub-soil, 
and other points of culture. The fruit is produced in some 
vineries during every month in the year; and in the London 
markets (generally) it is to be had in the highest degree of 
perfection from March to January. 

The Vine will thrive in any soil that has a dry bottom ; 
and in such as are rich and deep it will grow luxuriantly, 
and produce abundance of large fruit ; in shallow, dry, 
chalky, or gravelly soils, it will produce less fruit, but of 
better flavour. Speechly recommends dung reduced to a 
black mould, the dust and dirt of roads, the offal of animals, 
or butcher's manure, horn shavings, old rags, shavings of 
leather, bone dust, dung of deer and sheep, human excre- 
ment, when duly meliorated by time, a winter's frost, and 
repeatedly turning over. Abercrombie says, that dung out 
of a cow-house, perfectly rotted, is a fine manure for the 
Vine ; he recommends drainings from dunghills to be used 
over the ground once in ten or fourteen days from the time 
the buds rise, till the fruit is set, and that fresh horse dung 
be spread over the ground in autumn as a manure, and also 
to protect the roots from the inclemency of the weather ; 
some, however, disapprove of manuring high, as being 
calculated to produce wood rather than fruit. 

The general mode of propagating the Vine is by cuttings, 
either a foot or more long, with a portion of two year old 
wood, or short, with only one bud, or one bud and a half 
joint, &c. Vines are to be had at'the nurseries, propagated 
either from layers, cuttings, or eyes ; but plants raised from 
cuttings are generally preferred ; many are of opinion that 
it is a matter of indifference from which class the choice is 
made, provided the plants are well rooted, and in good 
health, and the wood ripe. A mode of very general utility, 
is to select the plants in the nursery a year before wanted, 
and to order them to be potted in very large pots. Varieties 
without end are raised from seed, and it is thought that by 
propagating from the seeds of successive generations, some 
sorts may ultimately be procured, better adapted for ripen- 
ing their fruit in the open air than now known. A seedling 
Vine, carefully treated, will show blossoms in its fourth or 



248 GRAPE. 

fifth year ; say that it produces a fair specimen of its fruit 
in the sixth year, then a new generation may be obtained 
so often ; but seeds ought never to be sown, except for 
experiment. 

William Robert Prince, Esq., in his Treatise on the 
Vine, published 1830, enumerates about five hundred and 
fifty varieties in cultivation, in the vineyard attached to the 
Linnsean Botanic Garden at Flushing, including about 
ninety American native Grapes ; but no sufficient evidence 
has as yet been exhibited of vineyards flourishing here 
equal to what they do in Europe. Mr. Loubat has 
attempted to establish a vineyard on Long Island, which he 
abandoned, after six years' arduous exertion. The follow- 
ing have been found to succeed best in the vicinity of New- 
York: the Sweetwater, the Chasselas, the Muscadine, the 
White Tokay, the Black Hamburgh, the Blue Cortiga, the 
Miller Burgundy, the Austrian Muscadel, the Messlier, the 
Morilon, the Black Prince, Blanc, and some excellent 
seedling sorts from the imported Lisbon Grapes. To plant 
a vinery for a full crop of good Grapes of various flavours, 
take a white and red Muscat, a white and red, or black 
Muscadine, a white and red Frontignac, a black or red 
Muscadel, a white Raisin Grape, a white and red Hamburgh, 
a Stihvell's, and red Sweetwaters, a white and red Nice, a 
black Damascus, a red Syracuse, and a black Constantia. 
The above list contains some of the most esteemed table 
Grapes, of all colours and flavours, which will ripen in 
succession. The most preferable kinds of our native 
Grapes, for private gardens, are the ' Catawba,' the York, 
(Pa.) ' Black Madeira,' the Schuylkill, Muscadel, and the 
Isabella. To these may be added the Scuppernong, or 
Hickman Grape, which is said to be larger than the Fox 
Grape, of a delightful perfume, and, when ripe, it is of a 
yellowish white colour. 

Previous to planting Vines, care should be taken that the 
ground be well pulverized and prepared for some distance 
around, for the roots to spread. The soil should be deep and 
dry, and some rich compost, or vegetable mould, should be 



GRAPE. 249 

used around the roots in filling in ; a handful or two of wet 
ashes to each plant is recommended by Mr. Loubat as 
beneficial ; and he recommends the planting to be done in 
the month of March, or early in April. 

There are various methods adopted in training and pru- 
ning the Vine ; and it appears impossible to lay down rules 
to suit every cultivator. The Vine having, like other trees, 
a tendency to produce its most vigorous shoots at the 
extremities of the branches, and particularly so at those 
which are situated highest, it generally happens, when it is 
trained high, that tlu greater portion of the fruit is borne near 
the top ; and it has been observed, that the fruit prod need 
on the vigorous shoots, which naturally grow at the 
extremities of the long branches, is generally more abundant, 
and of finer quality, than that produced on the short lateral 
ones, from which circumstance, high training seems to 
be the best calculated for private gardens. 

In some parts of Italy, Vines are cultivated together with 
Mulberry trees, and are allowed to mingle and hang in 
festoons ; thus silk and wine are produced on the same 
spot ; and it is considered that when Vines are allowed to 
grow over trees, on the sides of a house, or on bowers, or 
extended on tall poles, without much trimming, they will 
produce more fruit, and are not so liable to mildew. Dr. 
G. W. Chapman of New- York, having paid some attention 
to the cultivation of native Grapes, observes, that the Vine, 
in its natural state, seldom or ever throws out bearing shoots 
until it reaches the top of the tree on which it ascends, when 
the branches take a horizontal or descending position. 
From this fact, he considers horizontal training preferable 
to that in the fan shape. From the experiments he has 
made, he has found that the shoots coming from those parts 
of the branches bent downwards, are more productive than 
from those ascending ; he considers deep digging around 
the Vine, even to the destruction of some of the extending 
roots, as calculated to promote the growth of more fruit and 
less wood, than if allowed to spread near the surface ; and 
he disapproves stopping the shoots before the fruit until 
early in July. 



253 GRAPE. 

Mr. William Wilson of Clermont, leaves his Vines their 
whole length at the time of trimming in October. In 
November they are laid on the ground at full length, fastened 
down with pins, and covered lightly with earth ; in this 
state they lie all the winter. In April, as soon as the wea- 
ther will permit, they are uncovered, and left lying on the 
ground ten or twelve days : by the first of May, the Vines 
are trained to stakes or poles of the length of ten feet and 
upwards ; and by the middle of June, the stakes are entirely 
covered by new shoots of the Vine, and with plenty of fruit, 
which ripens in September. Mr. W. says, that until he 
pursued his present course, his fruit, was frequently blasted 
and mildewed, but that he has now Vines twenty or thirty 
feet Jong, which run up the fruit trees adjoining ; others, 
being carried up eight or ten feet, are stretched horizontally. 
It is seldom he gathers fruit within three or foar feet of the 
ground, and he has never any blasted or infected with 
mildew ; he keeps the ground cultivated by frequent 
hoeing and raking ; but he says he has used no manure for 
ten years, or more. 

Edward H. Bonsall, Esq , has a vineyard of American 
Grapes at Germantown, Pa., in a high state of cultivation. 
In page 331 of Prince's Treatise on the Vine, is a letter to 
the author, containing some valuable information, from 
which the following is extracted as appropriate to our 
subject. 

Mr. Bonsall's vineyard is situated between the Schuylkill 
and Delaware Rivers, four miles from the former, and eight 
from the latter, at an elevation of 300 feet above their level, 
have an aspect facing S. S. R , with a substratum of light 
isinglass soil, and seems well suited to the purpose. He 
says, " from my experience, both on my premises, and at 
other places, it is my opinion that we should reject almost 
all the foreign varieties, especially where our object in culti- 
vating them is to make wine." He has upwards of thirty 
varieties of American Vines under cultivation ; he recom- 
mends preparing the ground by ploughing with two ploughs 
with strong teams, one immediately behind the other, in the 
game furrow, each of them set deep ; and after the plough- 



GRAPE 251 

ing is completed, to be harrowed thoroughly. Then in the 
direction the rows are intended to be planted, parallel 
furrows are run across the field, at the distance of eight feet 
from each other ; these are afterwards crossed at right 
angles, five feet asunder. In the opening, at the intersection 
of these furrows, cuttings from nine to twelve inches long 
are planted, and arranged with a view to the Vines being, 
when grown, at distances of four by seven feet from each 
other ; to this end, he frequently plants two cuttings in a 
place, some of which are used to fill up with, in case of 
failures. He s&ys, that in 1829 he planted in nursery beds 
from two to three thousand cuttings as late as the middle of 
April to the middle of May, with better success than at any 
previous time. " In this case, the slips should be kept in a 
cool damp place, where vegetation may be held in check. 
To insure their freshness, sprinkle them occasionally with 
water. Previous to planting, cut them a proper length, and 
place them with their lower ends three or four inches in 
water, in a tub above ground, where they may soak three or 
four days. At this season the temperature will be likely to 
be such as will spur vegetation at once into healthy and 
vigorous action. The fall, or early in the spring, is prefer- 
able for rooted plants. In the autumn of the first year, after 
the frost has killed the unripe pa'rt of the young shoocs, they 
should be pruned down to the mature firm wood, and then 
with a hoe hilled over with the surrounding soil, which will 
completely protect them through the winter. If left without 
protection the first winter, many of them will perish." 

Mr. Bonsall says, his mode of training, as far as he 
is aware of it, is entirely peculiar to himself, which he 
describes as follows : "I take chestnut posts, the thickness 
of large fence rails, seven feet in length ; these I plant 
along the rows, at distances often feet from each other, and 
at such a depth as to leave five feet above the surface of the 
earth ; then taking three nails to each post, and driving 
them to within half an inch of their heads, the first two and 
a half feet from the ground, a second midway between that 
and the top, and the third near the top, I attach No. ll 
iron wire (one degree soft is bestj firmly to one of the nails 



252 GRAPE. 

in the end post* pass on to the next, and stretching it straight 
and tight, give it one turn round a nail in the same line as 
the one to which it was first attached. Having in this man- 
ner extended it along the three courses, the whole length of 
the row, my trellis is formed. I have had a portion of my 
vineyard fitted up in this way for three years, and experi- 
ence has confirmed the superior fitness of the plan. It is 
not its least recommendation, that it possesses in a degree 
the character of labour-saving machinery. A very impor- 
tant and extensive labour-making portion of the operations 
in the vineyard during the summer, is the attention required 
by the growing shoots to keep them properly trained up. 
They grow and extend themselves so rapidly, that were the 
strips of the trellis are lath, or where poles are used to sup- 
port vines, unless very closely watched, they fall down in 
every direction, in a very unsightly and injurious manner. 
Here the wire being small, the tendrils or claspers eagerly 
and firmly attach themselves to it, and thus work for them- 
selves, in probably two-thirds of the instances where the at- 
tention of the vigneron would otherwise be required. There 
is a free access afforded to the sun and air, and no hold for 
the wind to strain the frame," &c. Mr. Bonsall says fur- 
ther, " I shall not enter into a minute description of my man- 
ner of pruning, but may just sa_v, that after the vines have 
attained a full capacity for production, (say five years from 
the cutting,) my view is to prepare them for bearing an 
average of fifty clusters to each, leaving several shoots of 
from three to five joints on a vine for this purpose. When 
fresh pruned, they will not be more than four feet high, at 
their greatest age." 

Although the man of taste and capacity for improving on 
the improvements of others, may have gleaned ideas from 
the above extracts, sufficient to enable him to cultivate the 
vine in his own garden, it may be necessary to direct the 
leader's attention to the different methods of cultivating this 
excellent fruit in varied situations. 

A Vine may be trained horizontally under the coping of 
a close fence or wall, to a great distance, and the borders 
in an east, south-east, and southern aspect of large gardens, 



GRAPE. 253 

maybe furnished with a variety of sorts, which will ripen in 
great perfection^ without encumbering the borders ; or the 
plants maybe trained low, like currant bushes, in which case, 
three or more shoots, eighteen inches or two feet in length, 
may diverge from the stem near the ground, to supply young 
wood annually for bearing. The summer pruning consists 
in removing shoots which have no fruit, or are not required 
foa* the succeeding season ; in topping fruit-bearing shoots, 
and also those for succeeding years, when inconveniently 
long and straggling. For as by this mode, the shoots desti- 
ned to bear, are all cut in — to three or four eyes at the winter 
pruning, no inconvenience arises from their throwing out 
laterals near the extremities, which stopping will generally 
cause them to do. In training Vines as standards, the single 
stem at the bottom is not allowed to exceed six or eight inches 
in height, and from this two or three shoots are trained, or 
tied to a single stake of three or four feet in length. These 
shoots bear each two or three bunches, within a foot or 
eighteen inches of the ground, and they are annually suc- 
ceeded by others which spring from their base, that is, from 
the crown or top of the dwarf main stem. This is the mode 
practised in the north of France and in Germany ; in the 
south of France and Italy, the base or main stem is often 
higher, and furnished with side shoots, in order to afford a 
great supply of bearing wood, which is tied to one or more 
poles of greater height. The summer pruning in this case, 
is nearly the same as in the last. In the winter pruning, 
the wood that has borne is cut out, and the new wood 
shortened, in cold situations, to three or four eyes, and in 
warmer places to six or eight eyes. 

Abercrombie's methods of pruning established Vines, ad- 
mit of much diversity, as the plants are in different situations. 
Without reckoning the cutting down of young or weak plants 
alternately to the lowermost summer shoots, which is but a 
temporary course, three different systems of pruning have 
their advocates. In the first method, one perpendicular 
leader is trained from the stem, at the side of which, to the 
right and left, the ramifications spring. When the plant is 

22 



254 GRAPE. 

established, the immediate bearers, or shoots of the grow- 
ing season, and the mother bearers, or shoots of the last 
year's growth, are thus managed. Soon after the growing 
season has commenced, such rising shoots as either are in 
fruit and fit to be retained, or are eligibly placed for mother 
bearers next season, are laid in, either horizontally, or with 
a slight diagonal rise, at something less than a foot distance, 
measuring from one bearing shoot to the next : the rising 
shoots, intended to form young wood, should be taken as 
near the origin of the branch as a good one offers, to allow 
of cutting away, beyond the adopted lateral, a greater quan- 
tity of the branch, as it becomes old wood ; the new spring 
laterals, not wanted for one of these two objects, are pinched 
off. The treatment of those retained during the rest of the 
summer, thus differs : As the shoots in bearing extend in 
growth, they are kept stopped, about two eyes beyond the 
fruit ; the connate shoots, cultivated merely to enlarge the 
provision of wood, are divested of embryo branches, if they 
show any, and trained at full length as they advance during 
the summer, until they reach the allotted bounds ; were they 
stopped in the middle of their growth, it would cause them 
to throw out troublesome laterals ; in the winter pruning, 
there will thus be a great choice of mother bearers. That 
nearest the origin of the former mother bearer, or most com- 
modiously placed, is retained, and the other or others on the 
same branch are cut away; the rest of the branch is also 
taken off, so that the old wood may terminate with the 
adopted lateral ; the adopted shoot is then shortened to two, 
three, four, or a greater number of eyes, according to its 
place on the Vine, its own strength, or the strength of the 
Vine. The lower. shoots are pruned in — the shortest, in order 
to promote a growth of young wood, atthe bottom oftheVine. 
The second method is to head down the natural leader, 
so as to cause it to throw out two, three, or more principal 
shoots ; these are trained as leading branches ; and in 
the winter pruning are not reduced, unless to shape them 
to the limits of the trellis, or unless the plant appears 
too weak to sustain them at length. Laterals from these 
are cultivated about twelve inches apart, as mother bearers ; 



GRAPE. 255 

those in fruit are stopped in summer, and after the fall of 
the leaf, are cut in — to one or two eyes. From the appear- 
ance of the mother bearers, thus shortened, this has been 
called spur-bearing. 

The third method seems to flow from taking the second 
plan as a foundation, in having more than one aspiring 
leader, and from joining the superstructure of the first sys- 
tem immediately to this, in reserving well-placed shoots to 
come in as bearing wood. Thus, supposing a stem which 
has been headed, to send up four vigorous competing lead- 
ers, two are suffered to bear fruit, and two are divested of 
such buds as break into clusters, and trained to the length 
of ten, twelve, or fifteen feet, or more, for mother beaters 
next season. In the winter pruning, the leaders which have 
borne a crop, are cut down to within two eyes of the stool, 
or less, according to the strength of the plant, while the re- 
served shoots lose no more of their tops than is necessary to 
adjust them to the trellis. 

Nicol observes, that " most of the summer pruning of 
Vines may be performed with the fingers, without a knife, 
the shoots to be displaced being easily rubbed off, and those 
to be shortened, being little, are readily pinched asunder." 
After selecting the shoots to be trained for the production of 
a crop next season, and others necessary for filling the trellis 
from the bottom, which shoots should be generally laid in, 
at the distance of a foot or fifteen inches from each other, 
rub off all the others that have no clusters, and shorten those 
that have, at one joint above the uppermost cluster. For 
this purpose, go over the plants every three or four days, 
till all the shoots in fruit have shown their clusters, at the 
same time rubbing off any water shoots that may rise from 
the wood. 

Train in the shoots to be retained, as they advance. If 
there be an under trellis, on which to train the summer 
shoots, they may, when six or eight feet in length, or when 
the Grapes are swelling, be let down to it, that the fruit may 
enjoy the full air and light, as it advances towards maturity. 
Such of these shoots as issue from the bottom, and are to be 
shortened in the winter pruning to a few eyes, merely for 



256 GRAPE. 

the production of wood to fill the trellis, may be stopped 
when they have grown to the length of four or five feet. 
Others that are intended to be cut down to about two yards, 
and which issue at different heights, may be stopped when 
they have run three yards, or ten feet, less or more, 
according to their strength. And those intended to be cut at 
or near to the top of the trellis, should be trained a yard or 
two down the back, or a trellis may be placed so as to form 
an arbour ; or they may be placed to run right or left a few 
feet on the uppermost wire. 

The stubs or shoots on which the clusters are placed, will 
probably push again after being stopped, if the plants be 
vigorous. If so, stop them again and again ; but after the 
fruit are half grown, they will seldom spring. Observe to 
divest the shoots, in training, of all laterals as they appear, 
except the uppermost on each, in order to provide against 
accidents, as hinted at before, in training the newly planted 
Vines. When these shoots are stopped, as directed above, 
they will push again. Allow the lateral that pushes, to run 
a few joints, and then shorten it back to one, and so on as it 
pushes, until it stops entirely. When ihe proper shoots 
get ripened nearly to the top, the whole may be cut back to 
the originally shortened part, or to one joint above it, if there 
be reason to fear that the uppermost bud of the proper shoot 
will start. 

Divest the plants of all damped and decayed leaves as 
they appear, as such will sometimes occur in continued hazy 
weather, and be particularly cautious not to injure the leaf 
that accompanies the bunch, for if that is lost, the fruit will 
be of little value. 

11 Every one of penetration and discernment," Nicol ob- 
serves, "will admit the utility of thinning the berries on 
bunches of grapes, in order that they may have room to 
swell fully ; and further that of supporting the shoulders of 
such clusters of the large growing kinds as hang loosely, 
and require to be suspended to the trellis or branches, in 
order to prevent the bad effects of damp or mouldiness in 
very moist seasons. Of these, the Hamburgh, Lombardy, 
Royal Muscadine, Raisin, St. Peter's, Syrian, Tokay, and 



GRAPE. 257 

others, should have their shoulders suspended to the trellis, 
or to the branches, by strands of fresh matting, when the 
berries are about the size of garden peas. At the same time, 
the clusters should be regularly thinned out with narrow- 
pointed scissors, to the extent of from a fourth to a third 
part of the berries. The other close-growing kinds, as the 
Frontignacs, Muscats, &c, should likewise be moderately 
thinned, observing to thin out the small seedless berries only 
of the Muscadine, Sweet Water, and flame-coloured Tokay. 
In this manner, handsome bunches and full swelled berries 
may be obtained ; but more so, if the clusters or over-bur- 
dened plants be also moderately thinned away. Indeed, 
cutting ofTthe clusters, to a certain extent, of plants over- 
loaded, and pushing weak wood, is the only means by which 
to cause them to produce shoots fit to bear fruit next year ; 
and this should be duly attended to, so long as the future 
welfare of the plants is a matter of importance." 

The preceding observations may be considered as falling 
short of what may be expected on the cultivation of so im- 
portant a fruit as the Grape ; but it is introduced into this 
book only as a garden fruit. The modes of training in 
vineyards and vineries, are alike suited to the garden. Low 
training may be practised in borders or hedge rows, in large 
gardens ; and high training in sheltered situations, on high 
trellises or arbours. By proper management, the Vine may 
be elevated to the middle story of a house by a single stem, 
and afterwards trained to a great height, according to the 
taste of the proprietor. As the Vine is often trained near 
buildings, an awning may be conveniently formed over the 
tops, so as to admit of fumigating the Vine with smoke from 
tobacco, &c, as may be necessary in the summer season ; 
or a sort of movable tent may be made of light boards, and 
cheap glazed linen, or an old sail, &c. capable of covering 
the Vine while a smoke is created underneath ; this will 
efFectually destroy such insects as may annoy the Vine, and 
may prevent mildew and other diseases. 



22* 



258 

MULBERRY. 

Murier. Morus, 

There are several species of the Morus or Mulberry. 
The white kind is commonly cultivated for its leaves to feed 
silkworms, though in some parts of Spain, and in Persia, 
they are said to prefer the Black Mulberry. In China, it 
appears that both sorts are grown for the same purpose. 
The most esteemed variety of the white is one grown in 
Italy, and especially in Lombardy, with vigorous shoots, 
and much larger leaves than the other. The Morus multi- 
caulis is cultivated in many parts of France, and is by some 
preferred to all other varieties. It is said that a less quan- 
tity of foliage from this variety will satisfy the silkworms. 
The late Andrew Parmentier, Esq., was the means of 
introducing several choice varieties from that country ; and 
our nurserymen generally, have, of late years, turned their 
attention to the cultivation of such as are best adapted for 
silkworms, which are sold at moderate prices. 

In France, the white Mulberry is grown as pollard Elms 
are in England. In Lombardy, it is grown in low marshy 
ground. In China, it is also grown in moist loamy soil, 
and both there and in the East Indies, as low bushes, and 
the plantations rooted up and renewed every three or four 
years. In many parts, when the leaves are wanted for the 
worms, they are stripped off the young shoots, which are 
left naked on the tree ; in other places, the shoots are cut 
off, which is not so injurious to the tree, while the points of 
the shoots, as well as the leaves, are eaten by the worms. 
The plants are sometimes raised from seed, and one ounce 
of seed will produce 5000 trees, if sown in rich loamy soil, 
the latter end of April, or early in May ; but the young 
plants will require protection the first winter ; they are 
more commonly propagated by layers and cuttings, put 
down in the spring. The Italian variety is frequently 
grafted on seedling stocks of the common sort, in order to 
preserve it from degenerating. In the East Indies, the 
plants are raised from cuttings, three or four of which are 
placed together, where they are finally to remain. 



MttJLBERtttf. 259 

But Mulberry trees are valuable for their fruit ; and in 
England the black and red kinds are in great esteem, and 
much cultivated. The fruit of the white Mulberry is white, 
and less acid-than that of the black species. The black is 
naturally a stronger tree than the other ; the fruit is of a 
dark blackish red, and of an agreeable aromatic and acid 
flavour. The red Mulberry has black shoots, rougher 
leaves than the black Mulberry, and a dark reddish fruit, 
longer than the common sort, and of a very pleasant taste. 
The fruit of the yellow Mulberry is very sweet and whole- 
some, but not much eaten, excepting by birds ; the timber, 
however, is valuable, from its abounding in a slightly gluti- 
nous milk of a sulphureous colour, and is known in Europe 
Under the name of fustic wood, for dying a yellow colour. 

In Russia, the fruit of the Morus tartarica is eaten fresh, 
conserved, or dried ; a wine and a spirit are also made 
from them, but the berries are said to be of an insipid taste. 

All species of the Morus are remarkable for putting out 
their leaves late, so that when they appear, gardeners may 
safely set out their greenhouse plants, taking it for granted 
that all danger from frost is over ; from this circumstance, 
plantations of Mulberry trees may be made in this country, 
in the spring of the year with greater safety. 

The Mulberry produces its fruit chiefly on little shoots of 
the same year, which arise on last year's wood, and on 
spurs from the two year old wood ; in both stages, mostly 
at the ends of the shoots and the branches. In pruning, 
thin out irregular crossing branches, but never shorten the 
young wood, on which the fruit is produced. If any of the 
dwarfish kinds are cultivated as espaliers for their fruits, cut 
so as to bring in a partial succession of new wood every 
year, and a complete succession once in two years, taking 
the old barren wood out, as may be necessary. As the 
blossom buds cannot be readily distinguished from others in 
the winter, the best period for pruning is when the blossoms 
first become visible in spring. 

There is another genus of plants known as the Paper 
Mulberry, which is very ornamental, called Broussonetia 
papyrifera ; though a low tree, it has vigorous shoots. 



260 NECTARINE. 

furnished with two large leaves ; the fruit, which is small, is 
surrounded with long purple hairs, changing to a black 
purple colour when ripe, and full of juice. " In China and 
Japan, it is cultivated for the sake of the young shoots, 
from the bark of which the inhabitants of the Eastern 
countries make paper. The bark being separated from the 
wood, is steeped in water, the former making the whitest 
and best paper. The bark is next slowly boiled, then 
washed, and afterwards put upon a wooden table, and beat 
into a pulp. This pulp being put in water, separates like 
grains of meal. An infusion of rice, and the root of man- 
hiot are next added to it. From the liquor so prepared, the 
sheets of "paper are poured out one by one, and when 
pressed, the operation is finished." 

" The juice of this tree is sufficiently tenacious to be used 
in China as a glue, in gilding either leather or paper. The 
finest and whitest cloth worn by the principal people at 
Otaheite, and in the Sandwich Islands, is made of the bark 
of this tree. The cloth of the Bread Fruit tree is inferior 
in whiteness and softness, and worn chiefly by the common 
people." 



NECTARINE. 

Pecher a Fruit lisse, ou Brognons. Amygdalus nectarina. 

The varieties of this fruit resemble the Peach in every 
respect,except that the skin is perfectly smooth, of a waxen 
appearance, and the flesh generally more firm ; although 
of the same genus as the Peach, which is so plentiful in this 
country, the fruit of the Nectarine is quite a rarity, and 
seldom appears in our markets. There are seventy-two 
varieties cultivated in the Horticultural Garden of London ; 
and Nicol says, that " no varieties of the Nectarine are at 
present known to have originated in North America, except 
the Boston." 

It is generally allowed that their failure is occasioned by 
the attacks of insects. The most efficacious method that I 
have heard of, for securing any thing like a crop of 



NECTARINE. 261 

Nectarines, is to fumigate the trees in the evening, when 
the air is calm and serene, at the season when the fruit is 
ready to set, see pages 210 to 217. Tobacco is the most 
effectual antidote for insects ; but a friend of mine collected 
a quantity of salt hay that had been used for his spinach, 
the preceding winter ; with this he created a smoke, first on 
one side of his plantation, and afterwards on the other, by 
which means he obtained a good supply of fruit. Our 
enterprising horticulturist, Mr. W. Shaw, has succeeded in 
gathering fine fruit, by pursuing the English plan, namely, 
in training his trees against a close fence ; and it has been 
discovered by others, that the Nectarine, like the Grape 
Vine, will yield best in sheltered situations. That eminent 
horticulturist, Mr. David Thomas, observes, that " a vast 
quantity of fruit is annually destroyed by a worm, which 
causes the Plum, Apricot and Nectarine, prematurely to 
drop from the tree. To prevent this loss, let the tree after 
the blossoms fall, be frequently shaken by a cord connected 
with a swinging door, or with a working pump-handle &c. ; 
or let the bugs be jarred from the tree and killed. Or keep 
geese or pigs enough in the fruit garden to devour all the 
damaged fruit as it falls. We know that this last method is 
infallible." 

As some may object to shaking or jarring fruit trees, for 
fear of disturbing the fruit, such may be reminded, that if 
the blossoms set more fruit than can be supported, it will not 
come to full perfection, and the trees may be injured in their 
future bearing ; for these reasons, when fruit sets too thick, 
it should be thinned in an early stage of its growth. 

The Nectarine is generally budded on stocks of the same 
species, or on Peach or Plum, two or three years old. 
Knight recommends growing Almond stocks for the finer 
kinds of Nectarines and Apricots, as likely to prevent the 
mildew, and as being allied to the Peach. Dubreuil recom- 
mends a Plum stock for clayey soils, and the Almond for 
such as are light, chalky, or sandy. The same opinion is 
held by the Montreul gardeners. The Flemish nurserymen 
graft both the Peach and Nectarine on the Myrabelia Plum, 
a very small cherry-shaped fruit. 



262 GRANGE. 

The budding may be performed in July or August, in the 
side of the stock, which will, if properly managed, shoot the 
following spring, and attain the length of three or four feet 
in a summer's growth. After the budded trees have ripened 
the first year's shoots, they may either be planted where 
they are to remain, or retained in the nursery for two, three, 
or four years, till in a bearing state. Whether the plants 
be removed into the orchard at a year old, or remain in the 
nursery, the first shoots from the bud must be headed 
down in a judicious manner, in order to promote the most 
desirable form. In annual pruning, thin out superfluous 
branches and dry wood, and shorten the bearing shoots. 

Nectarines may be trained to a close fence, or wall, in 
private gardens ; in which case, such plants should be cho- 
sen as are budded low. See article Apricot. 



ORANGE, LEMON, &c. 

OiiANGER, ClTRONIER, &C. CltrUS. 

Notwithstanding this fruit, and also the Lemon, Lime, 
&c, are attainable at all seasons of the year, by supplies 
from our Southern States, the West Indies, and the south 
of Europe, yet the plants are entitled to our notice on 
account of their being so easily cultivated, and from their 
affording an ornament by exhibiting their fruit the whole of 
the year. 

The Orange, as well as others of the same genus, are 
generally cultivated as green-house plants, but may be 
kept in a light room throughout our severe winters, provided 
the temperature is not suffered to be below the freezing 
point. 3'2 D . Its recommendations are, handsome evergreen, 
shining, tree-like forms ; most odoriferous flowers, and 
brilliant, fragrant, delicious fruits, which succeed each 
other perpetually, and are not unfrequently seen on the 
tree at the same time, in two or three stages of growth. A 
work has recently been published at Paris, edited by Messrs. 
Risso and Poiteau, which contains engravings and descrip- 



ORANGE. 263 

tions of one hundred and sixty-nine varieties. They are 
arranged as sweet Oranges, of which they describe 42 sorts ; 
bitter and sour Oranges, 32 sorts ; Bergamots, 5 sorts ; 
Limes, 8 sorts ; Shaddocks, 6 sorts ; Lumes, 12 sorts ; 
Lemons, 46 sorts ; Citrons, 17 sorts. 

All the species of Citrus endure the open air at Nice, 
Genoa, and Naples ; but at Florence and Milan, and often 
at Rome, they require protection during the winter, and are 
generally planted in conservatories and sheds. In England, 
these trees have been cultivated since 1629 ; they are gene* 
rally planted in conservatories. Loudon says, that in the 
south of Devonshire, and particularly at Saltcombe, may be 
seen, in a few gardens, Orange trees that have withstood the 
winter in the open air upwards of a hundred years. The 
fruit is as large and fine as any from Portugal. Trees raised 
from seed, and inoculated on the spot, are found to bear the 
cold better than trees imported. At Nuneham, near Oxford, 
are some fine old trees, planted under a movable case, shel- 
tered by a north wall. In summer, the case is removed, and 
the ground turfed over, so that the whole resembles a native 
Orange grove, The author of this work, being a native 
of Abingdon,which is within three miles of the Earl of Har 
court's estate, has had frequent opportunities of tasting the 
fruit, which he believes to be equal to that of warmer climates. 
At Woodhall, near Hamilton, trees of all the species of Citrus 
are trained against the back walls of forcing-houses, and 
produce large crops of fruit. Any of the varieties of the 
Orange, Lemon, Lime, Shaddock, Citron, &c, may be 
grafted or budded on stocks of the common Orange, or 
Lemon ; but the seeds of Shaddocks and Citrons produce the 
strongest stocks ; and on these may be engrafted such kinds 
as may be needed for a conservatory. The most suitable 
time for budding is July and August ; but this operation 
may be performed at any time when the sap is in motion. 
The directions for the management of greenhouse plants, 
apply also to this family of plants, to which I refer my 
readers. A friend of mine, who is a native of Rouen, in 
Normandy, informs me, that a Mr. Valee, of that city, 
succeeds in clearing about twelve thousand francs per annum 



264 PEACH. 

from the flowers of Orange trees, which are distilled for 
essences, &c. 



PEACH. 

Pecher. Amygdalus Persica. 

It is generally considered that the Peach is of Persian 
origin. In Media, it is deemed unwholesome ; but when 
planted in Egypt, becomes pulpy, delicious, and salubrious. 
It has been cultivated, time immemorial, in most parts of 
Asia ; when it was introduced into Greece, is uncertain. 
The best Peaches in Europe are supposed to be grown in 
Italy, on standards. 

The list of Peaches in the London Catalogue, contains 
two hundred and twenty-four names, fifty of which are 
denominated American Peaches. Several attempts have 
been made to class the varieties of Peaches and Nectarines 
by the leaf and flower, as well as the fruit. Mr. Robertson, 
a nurseryman at Kilkenny, has founded his arrangement on 
the glands of the leaves ; and Mr. George Lindley, of London, 
has, in a peculiarly distinct manner, arranged no fewer than 
one hundred and fifty- five sorts of Peaches and Nectarines in 
well-defined divisions and sections. There are various 
instances on record (Hort. Trans, vol. I, p. 103 ; ) of both 
fruits growing on the same tree, even on the same branch ; 
and one case has occurred of a single fruit partaking of the 
nature of both. The French consider them as one fruit, 
arranging them in four divisions ; the Peckes, or free-stone 
Peaches ; the Peches lisses, or free-stone Nectarines, or free- 
stone Peaches ; the Pavies, or cling-stone Peaches ; and the 
JSrognons, or Nectarines, or cling-stone smooth Peaches. 

Although this fruit will thrive in any sweet, pulverized 
soil that is properly prepared, a rich sandy loam is the most 
suitable. Next to the selection and preparation of a suitable 
soil, a choice of good healthy trees is of the utmost importance. 
The seeds for stocks should be selected from the vigorous- 
growing young, or middle-aged healthy trees ; and the buds 



PEACH. 265 

should be taken from some of the choicest fruit -bearing trees 
that can be found. Let the stocks be fairly tested before 
they are budded, and if any infection exist in the stocks, or 
in the vicinity of where the choice of buds may fall, reject 
them, if you wish to rear a healthy progeny ; as more 
depends on these particular points than many are aware of. 

In this country, the Peach is generally budded on stocks 
of its own kind ; but in England it is often budded on 
damask Plum stocks, and some of the more delicate sorts 
on Apricot stocks, or old Apricot trees cut down : or on 
seedling Peaches, Almonds, or Nectarines. See article 
Nectarine. Cobbett says, " there are thousands of Peach 
trees in England and France that are fifty years old, and 
that are still in vigorous fruitfulness." He attributes the 
swift decay of the Peach tree here to their being grafted on 
stocks of their kind. 

Care should be taken to keep the trees clear of insects, 
by washing, fumigation, &c. ; see article, page 211. A 
celebrated horticulturist, Mr David Thomas, very justly 
remarks, in page 29 of the fifth volume of the New- York 
Repository, that " could the insect Curculio species be 
satisfied with three-fourths of all the fruit that set on our 
trees, we should be great gainers by keeping such a fellow 
in our employment ; for the fruit would be larger, and far 
more delicious. But we cannot restrain them within rea- 
sonable bounds, and we must be content to thin it on the 
branches by our thumbs and fingers. This is an important 
operation : without it, several varieties of these fruits are 
not fit for the table ; and it is remarkable, that if the super- 
numeraries are removed, even so late as not visibly to 
affect the size of the remainder, still their flavour will be 
greatly improved. Last season, our grosse mignon Peach 
tree was overloaded, and the fruit comparatively insipid ; 
yet after much the greater part had dropped in the due 
course of ripening, we found the gleanings to be really fine." 

As these, and similar points, are too little attended to, I 
prefer giving entire extracts from the writings of eminent 
horticulturists, to which I would strenuously invite the 
attention of my readers, in every instance. 23 



266 pear. 

All the varietiesof the Peach produce their fruit upon the 
young wood of a year old, the blossom buds rising immedi- 
ately from the eyes of the shoots. The same shoots seldom 
bear after the first year, except on some casual small spurs 
on the two year's wood, which is not to be counted upon. 
Hence the trees are to be pruned as bearing entirely on the 
shoots of the preceding year, and a full supply of regular 
grown shoots must be retained for successional bearers. 
Cut out the redundant shoots, and all decayed and dead 
wood, and reduce some of the former bearers, cutting the 
most naked quite away. 

A Peach Orchard may be planted at any time after the 
bud is established, until the trees are three or four years 
old, which may be placed from fifteen to twenty feet from 
each other, or from any other spreading trees. The dwarf 
kinds may be introduced into the kitchen garden, and 
trained against fences, as directed for the Apricot, or as 
espaliers, or dwarf standards. 



PEAR. 

Poieier. Pynis. 

The Pear tree, in its wild state, is thorny, with upright 
branches, tending to the pyramidal form, in which it differs 
materially from the Apple tree. The twigs, or sprays, 
hang down ; the leaves are elliptical, obtuse, serrate ; the 
flowers in terminating, villose corymbs, produced from wood 
of the preceding year, or from buds gradually formed on the 
several years' growth, on the extremities of very short 
protruding shoots, technically called spurs. It is found in 
a wild state in England, and abundantly in France and 
Germany, as well as in other parts of Europe, not excepting 
Russia, as far north as lat. 51. It grows in almost any 
soil. The cultivated tree differs from the Apple, not only 
in having a tendency to the pyramidal form, but also in 



PEAR. 267 

being more apt to send out tap roots ; in being, as a seed- 
ling plant, longer (generally from fifteen to eighteen years) 
in coming into bearing; and when on its own root, or 
grafted on a wild Pear stock, of being much longer lived. 
In a dry soil, it will exist for centuries, and still keep its 
health, productiveness, and vigour. There are fewer good 
sorts of Pears, in proportion to the number of current 
varieties than Apples. The Romans had thirty- six varieties 
in Pliny's time : there are now several hundreds in the 
French and British nurseries ; the London Horticultural 
Catalogue contains the names of six hundred and twenty- 
two. Professor Van Mons, of Brussels, and M. Duquessie, 
of Mons, fruited about eight thousand seedling Pears, from 
which they obtained nearly eight hundred sorts worth culti- 
vating, (NeiFs Hort. Jour.) The varieties are divided by 
the French into different classes of fruits, which are 
designated as Benrrees, Crevers, Poiree, &c. 

Criterion of a good Pear. — Dessert Pears are charac- 
terized by a sugary aromatic juice, with the pulp soft and 
sub-liquid, or melting, as in the Buerrees, or Butter Pears 5 
or of a firm and crisp consistence, or breaking as in the 
winter Bergamots. Kitehen Pears should be of a large size, 
with the flesh firm, neither breaking nor melting, and 
rather austere than sweet. Perry Pears may be either large 
or small; but the more austere the taste, the better will be 
the liquor ; excellent perry is made from the wild Pear, 

Pear trees are raised from seed taken from the best sorts, 
for the purpose of obtaining new varieties, or for producing 
Pear stocks. In raising Pears for stocks, the wild Pear is 
preferred in Europe, as being calculated to produce plants 
more hardy and durable than the cultivated sorts ; and for 
dwarfing and precocity, the Quince is preferred. 

The Pear is a much handsomer upright growing tree 
than the Apple ; more durable, and its wood hard and 
valuable for the turner and millwright; but its blossoms 
being white, are less showy than those of the Apple. 

A Pear Orchard may be planted at any time after the trees 
are two years' old from the graft ; and as trees from young 
stocks will not come into full bearing until ten or twelve 



268 plum. 

years old, they will bear removing with care at any time 
within that period. They may be planted at from twenty 
to thirty-five feet distance from each other, according to the 
nature of the tree. The dwarf varieties may be planted in 
the kitchen garden, and trained either as espaliers or dwarf 
standards. 

Standard Pear trees will require but little pruning after 
the heads are once formed ; in doing which, the branches 
should be permitted to extend on all sides freely. Several 
years may elapse before any cross-placed, very irregular, or 
crowded branches, require pruning ; yet there are some 
kinds whose form of growth resembles the Apple ; such 
will need frequent pruning. " The Pear tree," Mr. Phail 
says, " does not produce blossoms on the former year's 
wood, as several other sorts of trees do. Its blossom buds are 
formed upon spurs growing out of wood over one year old, 
and, consequently, projecting spurs all over the tree must be 
left for that purpose." In some Pears, Knight observes, 
"the fruit grows only on the inside of those branches which 
are exposed to the sun and air ; in others it occupies every 
part of the tree." Withering says, that " the French make 
perry, or poire , from the fermented juice of the Pear, which 
is little inferior to wine ; and that even the bad eating kinds, 
pared and dried in the oven, will keep several years with or 
without sugar . 



PLUM. 

Prunier. Prunus. 

The Plum tree rises fifteen feet in height, branching into 
a moderately spreading head ; the leaves are ovate, serrated, 
and on short petioles ; petals white. The natural colour of 
the fruit is generally considered to be black ; but the varie- 
ties in cultivation are of yellow, red, blue, and green colours, 
and of different forms and flavours. There are several 
good sorts grow wild in the hedges of Britain, and also in 
America, but its original country is supposed to be Asia ; 
and according to Pliny, it was taken from Syria into 



plum. 269 

Greece, and from thence into Italy. There are many- 
varieties cultivated in France ; and in the London Horti- 
cultural Garden there are two hundred and ninety-eight 
sorts kept under name. The green Gage is considered the 
best dessert Plum, and the Wine-sour for sweetmeats ; but 
the Damson is the best baking Plum. 

The Plum is said to suceeed best in a lofty exposure, and 
may yield well in the mountainous parts of the United 
States ; it yields well near Albany, but the fruit is by no 
means plentiful in the vicinity of the city of New-York. 
Like the Nectarine, it is subject to the attacks of insects. 

A correspondent, signed D. T., to the editor of the 
New York Farmer, page 60 of the third volume, remarks, 
that " it has long been observed that Plum trees growing in 
frequented lanes, or barn-yards, were generally fruitful, 
while those in secluded situations, as in gardens, were 
more rarely productive." The late Dr. Tilton has shown 
that the treading of live stock round the trees, made it not 
only more difficult for the worm to penetrate the ground, but 
that his escape from the fallen fruit was rendered precarious 
by the approach of swine, eager to convey his habitation and 
him in a different direction." 

It is also stated that " the Curculio is a timid animal ; 
that the passing of live stock round the trees alarms him ; 
and we know that rubbing of swine and cattle, or any 
sudden jar, causes him instantly to drop to the ground. In 
accordance with these facts, some have kept their hogs 
among their Plum trees; and a friend lately told me, that 
in consequence, his Plum trees had borne double during the 
last twelve years. This plan is much to be recommended 
among large trees ; but well-grown and well-fed hogs 
become wanton, and I have several small trees greatly 
injured by their teeth and by their rubbing. Neither will 
their rooting make amends for the trampling of the ground 
near small trees in wet weather ; I have, therefore, deter- 
mined to discharge these gentry during summer, and chiefly 
to trust the management of my fruit garden to the geese. 
Last season, I was much pleased with the activity of these 
birda; ecarcely a fallen Plum escaped them, which they 



270 QUINCE. 

swallow without difficulty, and the worm is every moment 
in danger." 

New varieties of the Plum are produced from seed ; and 
the old kinds are generally propagated by budding on 
stocks of free-growing Plums, in preference to grafting, 
because Plum trees are very apt to gum wherever large 
wounds are made in them. All the &orts produce their fruit 
on small natural spurs rising at the ends and along the sides 
of the bearing shoots of one, two, or three years' growth. 
In most sorts, new fruit branches are two years old before 
the spurs bear. The same branches and spurs continue 
fruitful, in proportion to the time which they take to come 
into bearing. After the formation of the head is begun, it 
takes from two to six years before the different sorts come 
into bearing. Standards must be allowed to expand in free 
growth, occasionally pruning long ramblers and irregular 
cross branches. In annual pruning, thin crowded parts ; 
cut away worn out bearers, and all decayed and cankery 
wood. The Plum may be cultivated in small gardens, 
trained as espaliers or to a close fence, like the Apricot, &c. 
The tree is of further use than for its fruit as a dessert, &c. 
the bark dyes yellow ; the wood is used by turners ; and 
the dried fruit, or prune, is formed into electuaries and 
gentle purgatives. Prunes were originally brought from 
Damascus, whence their name. Cobbett attributes the 
scarcity of Plums in New York to neglect. In his American 
Gardener, paragraph 320, he asks, " how is it that we see 
so few Plums in America, when the markets are supplied 
with cart-loads in such a chilly, shady, and blighty country 
as England V 1 



QUINCE. 

Coignassier. Cydonia. 

The Quince is of low growth, much branched, and 
generally crooked and distorted. The leaves are roundish 
or ovate, entire above dusky green, underneath whitish, on 



QUINCE. 271 

short petioles. The flowers are large, white, or pale red, 
and appear in May and June ; the fruit, a pome, varying 
in shape in the different varieties, globular, oblong, or 
ovate ; it has a peculiar and rather disagreeable smell, and 
austere taste. The fruit takes its name from being a 
native of the ancient town of Cydon, in the Island of Crete ; 
some suppose it to be a corruption of Malus cotonea, 
by which the Latins designated the fruit. It is used as a 
marmalade for flavouring apple pies, and making an excel- 
lent sweetmeat ; and it has the advantage over many other 
fruits for keeping, if properly managed. Of the several 
sorts, the following are in greatest esteem : 1. The oblong, 
or Pear Quince, with ovate leaves, and an oblong fruit 
lengthened at the base. 2 . The apple Quince, with ovate 
leaves, and a rounder fruit. 3. The Portugal Quince, the 
fruit of which is more juicy and less harsh than the pre- 
ceding, and therefore the most valuable. It is rather a shy 
bearer, but is highly esteemed, as the pulp has the property 
of assuming a fine purple tint in the course of being 
prepared as a marmalade. 4. The mild or eatable Quince, 
being less austere and astringent than the others. 

The Quince produces the finest fruit when planted in a 
soft moist soil, and rather shady, or at least sheltered 
situation. It is generally propagated by layers, and also by 
cuttings, and approved sorts may be perpetuated by graft- 
ing. In propagating for stocks, nothing more is necessary 
than removing the lower shoots from the layer, so as to 
preserve a clear stem as high as the graft ; but for fruit- 
bearing trees, it is necessary to train the stem to a rod, till 
it has attained four or five feet in height, and can support 
itself upright. When planted in an orchard, the trees may 
be placed ten or twelve feet apart. The time of planting, 
the mode of bearing, and all the other particulars of cul- 
ture, are the same as for the Apple and Pear. The chief 
pruning they require, is to keep them free from suckers, and 
cut out decayed wood. 



372 
RASPBERRY. 

Framboisier. Rubus, etc. 

There are several species of the Rubus found wild in 
various parts of Asia, Europe, and America, some of which 
have upright stems, others prostrate ; the American Stone 
Bramble, and also the common Blackberry, Dewberry, 
Cloudberry, &c. are of this family. The Rubus idaeus, or 
common Raspberry, grows spontaneously in the province cf 
New Brunswick, and in various parts of the United States, 
but most of the cultivated varieties are supposed to have 
originated in England. Loudon describes the true Rasp- 
berry as having stems which are surTVucticose, upright, 
rising to the height of several feet, and are biennial in du- 
ration ; but the root is perennial, producing suckers which 
ripen and drop their leaves one year, and resume their 
foliage, produce blos?om shoots, flower, and fruit, and die 
the next. The leaves are quinate-pinnate ; the flowers 
come in panicles from the extremity of the present year's 
shoots ; they are white, appear in May and June, and the 
fruit ripens about a fortnight afterwards. 

The fruit is grateful to most palates, as nature presents it, 
but sugar improves the flavour ; accordingly, it is much es" 
teemed when made into sweetmeats, and for jams, tarts and 
sauces. It is fragrant, sub-acid, and cooling ; allays heat 
and thirst. It is much used in distilling. " Raspberry 
syrup is next to the Strawberry, in dissolving the tartar of 
the teeth ; and as, like that fruit, it does not undergo the 
acetous fermentation in the stomach, it is recommended to 
gouty and rheumatic patients." 

Nicol enumerates twenty-three species and varieties of the 
cultivated Raspberry, and twenty-one of the Rubus ronce, or 
Bramble ; of the latter, is included the American red and 
black Raspberry, and the Long Island and Virginian Rasp- 
berry. The English varieties are, early Small white ; Large 
white ; Large red ; most Large red Antwerp ; Large yellow 
Antwerp ; Cane or smooth-stalked ; Twice-bearing white ; 
Twice-bearing red ; Smooth Cane, twice-bearing ; Wood- 



RASPBERRY. 273 

ward's Raspberry. Prince's catalogue contains twenty- 
seven names, amongst which are, Brentford red ; Brentford 
white ; Flesh-coloured ; Barnet red, fine ; Pennsylvania ; 
Cretan red ; Prolific red ; Canada purple rose flowering, &c. 
The varieties can be perpetuated by young sucker shoots, 
rising plenteously from the root in spring and summer ; 
when these have completed one season's growth, they are 
proper to detach with roots for planting, either in the 
autumn of the same year, or the next spring, in March or 
early in April. These new plants will bear some fruit the 
first year, and furnish a succession of strong bottom shoots 
for full bearing the second season. New varieties are 
raised from seed, and they come into bearing the second 
year. 

Raspberry beds are in their prime about the third and 
fourth year ; and if well managed, continue in perfection 
five or six years, after which they are apt to decline in 
growth, and the fruit to become small, so that a successive 
plantation should be provided in time. Select new plants 
from vigorous stools in full perfection as to bearing. Be 
careful to favour the twice bearers with a good mellow soil, 
in a sheltered situation, in order that the second crop may 
come to perfection. 

When Raspberries are cultivated on a large scale, it is 
best to plant them in beds by themselves, in rows from three 
to five feet apart, according to the kinds. In small gardens 
they may be planted in detached stools, or in single rows, 
in different parts of the garden, from the most sunny to the 
most shady aspect, for early and late fruit of improved growth 
and flavour. It is requisite to cut out the dead stems early 
in the spring, and to thin and regulate the successional 
young shoots ; at the same time, the shoots retained should 
be pruned at the top, below the weak bending part, and 
some rotten dung worked in, around the roots of the plants. 
Keep them clear of weeds during the summer, by hoeing 
between the rows ; at the same time eradicate all super, 
fluous suckers, but be careful to retain enough for stock in 
succeeding years. 



274 
STRAWBERRY. 

Fraisier. Fragaria. 

This is a genus of fruit-bearing herbaceous plants, of 
which there are few in the vegetable kingdom that can 
equal the Strawberry in wholesomeness and excellence. 
The fruit is supposed to receive its name from the ancient 
practice of laying straw between the rows, which keeps the 
ground moist and the fruit clean. They are natives of tem- 
perate, or cold climates, as of Europe and America. The 
fruit, though termed a berry, is, in correct botanical lan- 
guage, a fleshy receptacle, studded with seeds. It is univer- 
sally grateful alone, or with sugar, cream, or wine, and has 
the property, so valuable for acid stomachs, of not under- 
going the acetous fermentation. Physicians concur in 
placing Strawberries in their small catalogue of pleasant 
remedies ; as having properties which render them, in most 
conditions of the animal frame, positively salutary ; they 
dissolve the tartareous incrustations of the teeth ; they pro- 
mote perspiration. Persons afflicted with the gout, have 
found relief from using them very largely ; so have patients 
in cases of the stone ; and Hoffman states, that he has 
known consumptive people cured by them. The bark of 
the root is astringent." 

In cultivating the Strawberry, an open situation and 
rich loamy soil, rather strong, is required for most varieties ; 
and from their large mass of foliage and flowers, they must, 
till the fruit is set, have copious supplies of water. The 
row culture is best calculated to produce fruit ; and fre- 
quent renewal insures vigorous plants, as well as large fruit. 
Some make beds of single rows, from twelve to eighteen 
inches apart, according to the sorts ; others form a bed with 
two rows eighteen inches asunder. If several beds be in- 
tended, a space of two feet maybe left between each bed as 
a path ; and in the second or third season, the paths may 
be manured and dug, to admit of the runners taking root; 
by this means, a renewal may be made so often, and the 



STRAWBERRY. 275 

old stools being taken away, leaves spaces between the beds 
as before. Or new plantations may be made every season ; 
as, after the roots are fairly established, they multiply spon- 
taneously every summer, as well by suckers from the parent 
stem, as by the numerous runners ; all of which, rooting 
and forming a plant at every joint, require only removal to 
a spot where there is room for them to flourish. If taken 
off, and planted in rows in August and September, they will 
produce fine fruit the following season, and will bear in ful] 
perfection the second summer. A plantation of the Alpine 
yields fruit the same year that it is made. The Wood and 
the Alpine come regularly from seed, from which finer fruit 
may be produced than from offsets. The other species are 
uniformly propagated by offsets, except the intention be to 
try for new varieties. The Alpine and Wood species may 
be planted in situations rather cool and shady, in order that 
they may produce their fruit late in the season, which is 
desirable. The Strawberry, with a little trouble of choosing 
a succession of sorts, may be forced so as to be had at the 
dessert every month in the year ; though, during the winter 
months, they have not much flavour. 

Some gardeners lay straw an inch or two thick over their 
beds in March, and set fire to it, in order to promote a 
stocky growth of plants and early fruit ; others recommend 
mowing off the tops of such as are not required to fruit early, 
while they are in blossom, with a view to obtain a crop of 
Strawberries late in the season. The London Horticultural 
Catalogue contains the names of one hundred and twenty- 
one varieties of all the species ; which are classed according 
to their nature, colour, &c. Class 1. Scarlet Strawberries ; 
2. Black Strawberries ; 3. Pine Strawberries ; 4. Chili 
Strawberries ; 5. Hautbois Strawberries ; 6. Green Straw- 
berries ; 7. Alpine and Wood Strawberries. To select all 
the most esteemed from this, or any other extensive cata- 
logue, is a difficult task ; the following description of spe- 
cies and varieties may serve to direct the choice : 



276 STRAWBERRY. 

1. Wood Strawberry, Fragaria vesea, with oval serrated leaves; the 
fruit red, white, and green, which is round and small. A native of Britain. 

2. The Scarlet, Fragaria Virginiana, with leaves like the preceding; 
the fruit roundish and scarlet-coloured. A native of Virginia. Varieties, 
Early' Scarlet, Wilmot's late, Common late, Wilmot's cockscomb scarlet. 

3. The Roseberry, Fragaria Virg. var. An Aberdeen seedling, intro- 
duced in 1810. The]plants have few roundish leaves; larger fruit than the 
scarlet, and are very prolific; continues bearing till August. 

4. The Downton, Fragaria Virg. var. The fruit is large, irregular and 
cockscomb-like ; leaves large ; plant hardy and prolific. 

5. The Carolina, Fragaria Carolinensis, colour red; a native of 
America. 

6. The Musky, or Hautbois, Fragaria elaticr, with oval rough javelin - 
edged leaves ; the fruit large, of a pale red colour. A native of Britain. 

7. The Chili, Fragaria Chiliensis, with large, oval, thick, hairy leaves, 
and large flowers ; the fruit large and very firm ; a native of South 
America. 

8. Keen's Imperial, or New Chili, Fragaria Chili, var. raised by Mr. 
Keen, of isleworth, a most excellent bearer, ripening early. The fruit is 
very large ; the flesh firm and solid, without any separable core ; colour 
scarlet. 

9. The Pine, Fragaria grandiflora, the leaves small and delicate. 
There are two sorts, the red and the white, or greenish tinted, of this most 
richly flavoured fruit. Knevet's seedling produces large fruit of excellent 
flavour. 

10. The Alpine, or Prolific, Fragaria, collin a, which commonly lasts 
from June till November, and in mild seasons, till near Christinas ; two 
sorts of the fruit, the red and the white. Natives of the Alps of Europe. 

11. The one-leaved, Fragaria monop/njlla, the pulp of the fruit, pin'i- 
coloured. A native of South America. 

12. The Grove End scarlet Strawberry, a seedling raised by Wm. 
Atkinson, Esq. in his garden at Grove End, Marylebone, in the year 1820 ; 
an excellent bearer, ripening its berries early and in succession. 

All the species and vaiieties of this fruit are highly esti- 
mated in Britain, where they are cultivated in great perfec- 
tion. Berries have been known to weigh from one to two 
ounces, which have been grown to the circumference of 
eight inches and upwards. It may be gratifying to the 
lovers of this excellent fruit, to be informed that some of the 
best kinds are attainable here. Messrs. Prince & Sons, and 
Mr. Floy & Son, have some of the choicest kinds in their 
nurseries ; and one of our patriotic fellow-citizens, Jesse 
Buel, Esq , of the Albany Nursery, informs us in the 
Albany Argus, of June 23, 1830, that he has grown the 



WALNUT. 277 

Downton, (a variety of the Chili, crossed by Mr. Knight,) 

two years in succession, 4| inches in circumference. 

He said, that " he picked a pailful that morning of the 
Methven Scarlet Strawberry, which had an average circum- 
ference of three inches each. Several measured four 
inches, and one four and a quarter inches. Sixty-three, 
divested of the calyx, weighed a pound, which is a trifle 
more than four to the ounce." Several of the choicest 
kinds have been lately transplanted from the London 
Society's Garden into the American Nurseries. 



WALNUT. 

Noyer. Juglans. 

From the circumstance of our having an abundance of 
the fruit, from the many species of this genus of trees o-row- 
ing spontaneously around us, it is presumed that the culture 
of the Juglans regia, commonly called English Walnut, or 
Madeira Nut, has been neglected by many of our citizens. 
It is a native of Persia, and is cultivated in France, England, 
and in other parts of Europe, both as a fruit and timber 
tree. The fruit in England is much used in a green state 
for pickling, and also as an adulteration of soy sauce. In 
France, an oil which supplies the place of that of Almonds, 
is made from the kernel. In Spain, they strew the gratings 
of old and hard nuts, first peeled, into their tarts and other 
meats. The leaves strewed on the ground, and left there, 
annoy worms or moles, or macerated in warm water, afford 
a liquor which will destroy them. The unripe fruit is used 
in medicine for the purpose of destroying worms in the 
human body. Pliny says, " the more Walnuts one eats, 
with the more ease will he drive worms out of the stomach." 
The timber is considered lighter, in proportion to its 
strength and elasticity, than any other, and therefore com- 
monly used in England for gun-stocks. It is used in 
cabinet work in most parts of Europe; the young timber is 
allowed to. make the finest coloured work, but the old to b$ 

24 



278 WALNUT. 

finest variegated for ornament. When propagated for 
timber, the nut is sown ; but when fruit is the object, 
inarching from the branches of fruit-bearing trees, is prefer- 
able. Budding is also practised by some ; the buds succeed 
best when taken from the base of the annual shoots ; 
ordinary sized buds from the upper part of such shoots 
generally fail. Walnut trees that have not been grafted or 
budded, may be induced to produce blossoms by ringing 
the bark, that is, cutting out a streak of the bark around the 
body or main branches of the tree. Walnut trees seldom 
yield much fruit until fifteen or twenty years old ; it is pro- 
duced on the extremities of the preceding year's shoots. 
The trees should stand forty or fifty feet apart, and they 
may be permitted to branch out in their natural order. 
They need but little pruning, merely to regulate any casual 
disorderly growth, to reduce over-extending branches, and 
to prune up the low stragglers. 

Lest any of our native Walnuts should be neglected 
or abandoned by any, I annex a description of the different 
kinds : 

Juglans catharticus, is known under the name of Butter- 
nut, Oilnut, and white Walnut ; these nuts are used by the 
Indians as a medicine. 

Juglans nigra, the black Walnut, is a tree of large size ; 
its fruit is known to be excellent. 

Juglans olivaformis, Pecan, or Illinois nut, is delicious. 
The nuts of Juglans sulcata, which is called thick shell 
bark, Hickory, and Springfield, and Gloucester nut, are 
large and well-tasted. The shell bark Hickory, shag 
bark, or scaly bark Hickory, Juglans alba, is so called on 
account of its bark, which is torn lengthwise in long loose 
strips, as in J. sulcata. The Juglans tomentosa, the Mucker 
nut, white heart Hickory, or common Hickory, and most of 
the other kinds enumerated, are worth preserving ; or culti- 
vating where there is none, for its timber for mechanical 
purposes ; and that of the Juglans glabra, or Hog nut, is 
useful for brooms, &c. 



279 

ON THE 

CHOICE OF FRUIT TREES IN THE NURSERY. 

In the choice of fruit trees, all possible care and attention 
are necessary ; for, to have trees that do not answer the 
expectations of the proprietor, is a great disappointment. 
As the young gardener may need such directions as are 
calculated to govern him in his choice, I shall endeavour to 
furnish them. Of whatever species or variety of fruit trees 
are wanted, choose those that are vigorous and straight, 
and of a healthy appearance. Whether they have been 
grafted or budded, be careful to select such as have been 
worked on young stocks. Grafts and buds inserted into 
old crooked stunted stocks, seldom succeed well. Trees 
that are healthy, have always a smooth, clean, shining bark; 
such as are mossy, or have a rough wrinkled bark, or are 
the least affected by canker, should be rejected. Canker is 
discoverable in the young wood, and generally two or three 
inches above the graft or bud. If the tree be an Apricot, 
Nectarine, Peach, or Plum, and any gum appears on the 
lower part of it, do not fix upon that. Let the tree you 
select (if a dwarf) be worked about six inches from the 
ground, and only one graft or bud should be upon each 
stock, for when there are more, the tree cannot be brought 
to so handsome a form. 

In some of the preceding articles, I have shown that some 
descriptions of trees may be transplanted with safety, even 
when far advanced in growth. When trees of four or five 
years' growth, after heading down, that are healthy, and 
well furnished with fruit-bearing wood, close up to the cen- 
tre of the tree, can be obtained, they will do very well ; but 
great care is requisite in taking up, removing, and planting 
such. Let the tree be taken up with as great a portion 
of the roots as possible, taking care not to bruise, split, or 
damage them ; for want of attention to these points, trees 
often become diseased. Whenever (notwithstanding all due 
caution) any roots have been accidentally broken, split, or 
otherwise damaged in taking up the tree, let them be cut off j 



280 ON THE CHOICE OF 

or if they cannot be well spared, let the damaged or bruised 
part be pared clean with a sharp knife, and a portion 
of the following composition be spread over the wound, in 
order to keep the wet from it, which would otherwise injure 
the tree. To equal parts of soft soap and tar, add a little bees- 
wax ; let them be boiled together, and when cold they may 
be used. The necessity of pruning-in and dressing man- 
gled roots, is more particularly required in trees of the stone 
fruit, such as Apricots, Nectarines, Peaches, Plums, &c. ; 
for without the application of some remedy, they gum at the 
roots, which defect, if not counteracted, very materially 
injures the upper part of the trees, which may become so 
affected as never to recover afterwards ; therefore, great 
care should be taken not to occasion such injury ; and 
when accidents happen, all due caution and application are 
necessary to promote a healthy and vigorous growth. 

A young tree, likely to do well, should have roots nearly 
corresponding to the branches ; at least, it should have one 
strong root in a similar proportion to the bole of the tre e 
with a proper distribution of branching fibres. Healthy 
roots are always smooth and clear, the colour of them varies 
a little according to the sort of the tree, but the older the 
roots are, the darker the colour is. 

After the tree is taken up, be careful in conveying it to 
the place where it is to be planted, so that the roots are not 
chafed or rubbed. If trees are to be conveyed a consider- 
able distance, they should be well guarded by straw, or 
otherwise, in order to prevent injury. All damaged bruised 
roots should be pruned as soon as the tree is taken up, but 
if it be necessary to prune away any sound good roots, such 
pruning should be delayed until the time of planting. In 
pruning away roots, always let them be finished by a clear 
cut, and in a sloping direction, letting the slope be towards 
the under stratum, so that the wet may not be allowed to 
lodge upon the part so cut. When trees are planted at an 
advanced season, in the spring of the year, it will be neces- 
sary to prune the tops ; and if trees are removed that have 
been trained three or four years, and are not properly 
supplied with young wood, they must be cut down either 



FRUIT TREES IN THE NURSERY. 



281 



wholly or partially, in order to obtain a sufficiency. In 
practising this upon Apricot and Nectarine trees, &c, 
always prune so as to have a leading shoot close below the 
cut, as it is very rare they will push a shoot below, unless 
there be a lead. This attention is not so particularly required 
in the Pear, &c, as such will generally push forth shoots, 
although no leading ones were left : but in all kinds, the 
younger the wood is, the more certain are shoots to be 
produced. If a tree that has been under training for one or 
two years, should only have one good strong leading shoot, 
and two or three weaker ones which do not proceed from 
it, let the weak shoots be pruned clean away, and shorten 
the strong one, from which a handsome head may after- 
wards be formed. For further directions, as respects 
pruning and planting fruit trees, &c,, the reader is referred 
to the preceding articles, on these subjects ; and as respects 
any species of fruit in particular, directions will be found 
under its distinct head. 

In order to assist the reader to make a judicious choice 
of fruit trees, I have furnished a short description of such 
sorts as can be best recommended. Previous to making 
this selection, I carefully perused " Prince's Pomological 
Manual," also such parts of " Kenrick's American Orchar- 
dist," and " Lindley's Guide to the Orchard and Fruit 
Garden," as were applicable to my subject ; besides these 
important guides, I had the select catalogue of different 
nurserymen before me, and have chosen such only as have 
been most generally recommended ; in doing this, I have had 
difficulties to contend with, the nature of which none but 
those who have duly considered the subject can form any 
idea. The facility with which seedling plants are raised, 
and the paternal fondness with which people are apt to 
regard their own seedlings, have occasioned hundreds of 
names to appear in the various catalogues, which tend not a 
little to swell the large and increasing list of fruits. 

In many instances, the English, French, Spanish, and 
other names, provisional, local, and barbarous, are given to 
the same variety, consequently some fruits appear in the 

24* 



282 APPLE. 

different catalogues under all the varied names ; and the 
patience and labour necessarily requisite for ascertaining 
what are worthy of cultivation, and what are really distinct 
varieties, are correspondingly great. 

The annexed list and description of the first fifty varieties 
of apples, was politely furnished by William R. Prince, Esq. 
author of the " Pomological Manual," " Treatise on the 
Vine," &c. ; in making out the other lists, I have generally 
adopted the names given in the catalogue of Michael Floy 
and Sons, of the Harlem Nursery, as a heading ; and have 
caused the synonymes, or names by which the same 
variety is known, or has been called, to be printed in italics ; 
thus, my lists of about 300 varieties of the various sorts of 
fruit, will embrace what has been deemed by some as dif- 
ferent varieties, perhaps to the number of a thousand. 

APPLES. 

1. June eating, J uniting, or Geniton. The fruit is small, of a round- 
ish form, and yellow colour ; it ripensin July : the pulp is tender and juicy ; 
the tree is a good bearer, and of small low growth. 

2. Early red Margaret> or red June eating. The fruit is small and 
roundish ; colour red striped ; the pulp sweet, and of pleasant flavour ; it 
ripens in July. 

3. Spring Grove. The fruit is small, of a conical form, and pale green 
colour ; it is ripe in July, and continues till September ; the pulp is soft and 
juicy ; tree hardy, a gieat bearer, and the fruit chiefly used in the kitchen. 

4. Prince's Yellow Harvest, or July Pippin. The fruit of a me- 
dium size, depressed; of a pale yellow colour; the pulp is tender, slightly 
acid, but of an excellent flavour. 

5. Sinequanon. The fruit of a medium size, roundish, but somewhat 
depressed ; of a greenish colour, and very highly flavoured ; ripe in July. 

6. White Astracan. The fruit is roundish, angular at the sides, of a 
medium size ; the colour whitish, faintly streaked with red on the sun side, 
and covered with a white bloom ; it ripens in August, and the pulp is very 
tender, pleasant and delicate. 

7. Golden Pearmain. The fruit large, roundish, and of a deep red 
and yellow colour: it ripens in August, and continues till October ; pulp 
soft and sweet ; a hardy tree, but not large ; a good bearer, and the fruit 
much esteemed. 

8. Sugarloaf Pippin. The fruit of medium size, ovate, or oblong; of 
a pale yellow colour; the pulp firm, but juicy, and of a highly pleasant 
flavour; it ripens early in August. 



APPLE. 283 

9. Hawthorden. The fruit is large, rather flat, and of a pale green 
colour ; it ripens in August, and continues till January ; the pulp soft, juicy 
and acid ; a very hardy tree ; a great bearer, and the fruit good for all kitchen 
purposes. 

10. Red and Green Sweeting. The fruit large, of oblong shape ; 
green. colour, striped with red; ripens in August and September, The 
pulp is very sweets tender, and of pleasant flavour. 

11. Borsdorf. Fruit medium size, conical form, and of a yellow green 
colour ; it ripens in September, and continues till February ; the pulp is 
firm, and of an aromatic flavour ; tree of low growth, a middling bearer, but 
an excellent fruit for the table. 

12. Fall Pippin. The fruit is very large, of a roundish shape ; yellow 
colour ; the pulp very tender, and of good flavour ; ripens in September and 
October. 

13. Old Golden Pippin. The fruit small, roundish, and of a gold 
yellow colour ; it ripens in September and October ; flesh firm and sweet, 
fit both for the dessert and kitchen. 

14. Pumpkin Sweeting. Fruit large, of pale yellow colour ; pulp very 
sweet and pleasant ; ripens in October and November. 

15. Newtown Spitzenburg. The fruit of medium size, roundish and 
depressed ; colour of a pale yellowish ground, greenish where shaded, but 
red next the sun ; pulp very sweet, rich and pleasant ; ripens in October 
and November. 

16. "Wood's Transparent. P ruit small and flat, of a green and yellow 
colour ; ripens in October, and continues till February ; flesh firm and 
j uicy ; tree hardy, a great bearer, and excellent firuit. 

17. Sweet Bough. Fruit large, ovate, of pale yellow colour; tender, 
sweet, and pleasant in flavour ; ripens in August. 

18. Ribstone Pippin. Fruit of medium size, roundish, and partially 
depressed ; of a pale yellow colour, tinged with red ; pulp slightly acid, and 
of fine flavour ; ripens in November, and continues till April. 

19. Rhode Island Greening. Fruit large and depressed, of a green- 
ish colour; slightly acid, and of the finest flavour; ripens in November, 
and continues till April. 

20. Bolland Pippin. Fruit medium size, ovate form, and of a gold 
and green colour ; it ripens in October, and continues till February ; flesh 
crisp and firm ; tree hardy and large ; a good bearer and much esteemed 
fruit. 

21. Seek no Further. Fruit of medium size, depressed ; of a whitish 
colour, flesh very tender, and of pleasant flavour; ripens in November, and 
continues till March. 

22. Esopus Spitzenburg. Fruit large and oval; of red colour; flesh 
yellowish ; slightly acid, and of the finest flavour ; ripens in October, and 
continues till February. 

23. PennockRed Winter. Fruit very large and compressed ; of deep 
red colour; flesh tender, juicy, and of sweet and pleasant flavour ; ripens in 
November. 



284 APPLE. 

24. Flushing Spitzknburg. Fruit large, roundish, somewhat com- 
pressed ; red striped colour, and of sweet and pleasant flavour ; ripens in 
November, and continues till March. 

25. Red Winter Swketikg. Fruit large and compressed ; of reddish 
colour; and of sweet and delicious flavour; ripens in November, and con- 
tinues till March. 

26. Green JNewtown Pippin. Fruit medium size, compressed ; of 
pale green colour; flesh very high flavoured; ripens in December, and 
keeps till June. 

27. Bringewood Pippin. Fruit small, nearly globular; colour bright 
yellow tinged with red, pulp exceeding sweet, and highly perfumed. 

28. Downton Pippin. Fruit of moderate size, cylindrical, flaltened at 
the ends ; of yellow colour, with numerous specks ; flesh firm, rich and 
subacid ; ripens in October and November. 

29. English Nonpareil. Fruit of medium size and flat ; of a greenish 
yellow colour, with a slight russet ; flesh firm, rich and aromatic ; ripens in 
November and continues till May. 

30. Fenouillet Gris. Fruit rather small, roundish, ovate, of a yellow- 
ish gray colour, with a slight russet; pulp tender, saccharine and highly 
flavoured ; ripens in November, and continues good till February. 

31. Red Winter Calville. Fruit large and oblong, of a pale red 
colour; deeper next the sun; flesh tender, and of pleasant flavour; ripens 
in November. 

32 Dredges' Beauty of Wilts. Fruit medium size and oval form, 
of a bright yellow, spotted with red ; it ripens in October, and lasts till 
March; pulp firm and juicy; a great bearer, and the fruit good for ait 
kitchen purposes. 

S3. Ortley Pippin. Fruit of large size, pale yellow colour, often a 
tinge of red on the sunny side ; flesh firm and high flavoured ; ripens in 
November, and lasts till April. 

34. Lemon Pippin. Fruit of medium size, oval shape ; colour yellow- 
ish green ; flesh firm, pleasant, but not high flavoured ; ripens in October, 
and lasts till Ma:ch. 

35. Blenheim Pippin. Fruit large, roundish, of a yellowish colour, 
tinged with red next the sun ; pulp sweet and high flavoured ; ripe in 
November, and keeps till March. 

36. Gravenstein. Fruit raiher large and compressed; of a yellowish 
green colour, striped with red, and high flavoured ; ripens in October, and 
lasts tiil January. 

37. Alexander Fruit very large, somewhat cordate, smallest at the 
crown ; of a greenish yellow colour, striped or marbled with red ; pulp ten- 
der, sweet, rich and aromatic ; ripens in October, and lasts till February. 
Though a large, hardy tree, it is a medium bearer, but a magnificent fruit. 

ZS. Franklin Golden Pippin. Fruit a medium size, conical, of a 
golden yellow colour, with gray and dark-coloured specks ; it ripens in 
November, and continues till March ; flesh firm, and highly aromatic , tree 
rather slender, and middling bearer, but an excellent fruit. 



APPLE. 285 

'39. Rambour Franc. Fruit large and compressed ; of pale yellow co- 
lour, tinged with red ; flesh tender, with a slight acidity ; ripens in October 
and November. 

40. Newark King. Fruit large, oval shape ; colour red, striped with 
yellow; the pulp of pleasant flavour; ripens in October, and lasts till 
January. 

41. Priestly. Fruit large, oblong; of a dull red colour, faintly striped ; 
the flesh of pleasant and aromatic flavour ; ripens in December, and con- 
tinues till April. 

42. Hughes' Golden Pippin. Fruit small, round, but partially de- 
pressed ; of yellow colour, with numerous specks ; flesh firm, juicy, rich, 
pungent and agreeable ; ripens in October, and lasts till January. 

43. Beauty of Kent. Fruit rather large, and of irregular shape ; of a 
yellowish green colour, mottled with red ; flesh firm and juicy, with a 
pleasant acid flavour ; ripens in October, and continues till January. 

44. Monstrous Pippin. Fruit of enormous size, often weighing 
twenty-five ounces or more ; of a pale lemon colour ; flesh tender? and of 
sprightly flavour, excellent for cooking ; ripens in October, and continues 
fit for use till January. 

45. Long Island Russet. Fruit of medium size, depressed ; russetty 
colour, and of pleasant flavour ; ripens by November, and continues till 
MareL\ 

46. Winter Sweet Pearmain. Fruit small, roundish ; of a dull red 
colour, with green stripes ; pulp very sweet, and of peculiar flavour ; ripens 
inNovember ? and keeps till March, 

' 47. Lady Apple, or Pomme d'Apis. Fruit small, flat ; of pale yellow 
colour, tinged with a deep red on the side ; flesh crisp, sprightly and plea- 
sant ; ripens in November, and continues till Apnl. 

48. Pomme Grise. Fruit rather large, somewhat depressed ; russetty ; 
of pleasant flavour 5 ripens in November, and lasis till March. 

49. Norfolk Beaufin. Fruit middling size, flattish, and a deep red 
and pale green colour 5 it ripens in November and December, and lasts till 
August ; flesh firm and savoury; tree hardy and upright, and a good bearer . 
fruit excellent for use in the kitchen. 

50. Early Crofton, &r Irish Peach Apple. An Irish apple, of the 
middle size and flattish shape ; of an olive green colour, much variegated 
with red ; has a rich saccharine flavour 5 ripens in August ; it is much es* 
teemed for the dessert, and excellent also as a sauce apple. The tree grows 
well, and is not apt to canker. 

51. Dowell's Pippin:. In size and form this apple resembles the Rib- 
stone Pippin, but is more pointed at the head, and the eye is sunk in a more 
confined and deeper cavity ; the skin is green, nearly covered with a clear- 
thin russet, and a slight tinge of brownish red on the sunny side ; an excel- 
lent dessert apple from October to Christmas. 

52. Barcelona Pearmain. Glace Rouge, Kleiner Casseler Reinette, 
Reinette Rouge, Reinette Rousse, Reinette des Carmes. Fruit of medium 
size, oval, not angular J colour brownish yellow in the shade, but deep red 



286 APPLE. 

next the sun; flesh firm, yellowi h, with a rich aromatic, but slightly 
agreeable acid. A dessert Apple from November till February. Tree a 
good bearer. 

53. Bell Flower. A very large and beautiful apple, its colour bright 
yellow, with an occasional blush on the sunny side ; its form oblong ; the 
flesh tender, juicy, rich, and finely flavoured, and is alike excellent for the 
dessert or for cooking. It ripens early in November, and will keep all the 
winter. 

54. Court Pendu, Capendu, Court Pendu Plat, Garnon's Apple. 
An estimable dessert apple, of nonpareil size [small] ; very flat in shape, 
the colour yellow, a good deal covered with full red ; it is of a high saccha- 
rine flavour and of close consistence ; the fruit keeps till February or 
March. The tree grows upright, and bears well. 

55. Malcarle, Charles Apple, Mela Carle. A far-famed fruit. In 
the climate of Italy, this is supposed to be the best apple in the world. It 
is cultivated extensively in the territories of Genoa, as an article of export 
and commerce to Nice, Barcelona, Cadiz, and Marseilles. The fruit is 
rather large, its form inclining to globular. Its beautiful waxen skin is a 
hit'.e marbled with a very faint green near the eye ; its colour in the shade 
is a pale yellow, tinged with flaming crimson next the sun ; the flesh is 
white, tender, delicate, sweet, with the fragrant perfume of roses. It ripens 
in September, and will keep till spring. 

56. Stroat, Straat. Is an autumn fruit ; it is stated to be tender, juicyi 
and well flavoured ; and, according to Mr. Buel, in excellence it is not sur- 
passed by any fruit in its season ; a native. 

57. Swaar Apple. It is a highly celebrated winter table fruit in some 
Parts of New York and New Jersey ; it is a large green apple of great and 
uncommon flavour and richness ; highly deserving cultivation in every col- 
lection of fine fruits. 

58. Colder Harvey, Brandy Apple. A dessert apple, not larger 
than the Golden Pippin ; colour light yellow, with a flush of red, and em- 
broidered with a roughish russet. It is called Brandy Apple from the 
superior specific strength of its juice ; is of remarkably close texture, very 
ricfi in flavour, anil will keep till April or May. 

59. Siberian Harvey. This fruit, which was raised by Mr. Knight 
from the Siberian Crab and Golden Harvey, is stated to be a small globular 
fruit, of a bright gold colour, stained with deep red on the side next the sunj 
the fruit growing in clusters on slender branches ; the juice exceeding 
sweet j ripe in October. Specific gravity of its juice, 1091. 

GO. Pine-Apple Russet, Hardinghani 1 s Russet. This delicious apple 
is above the middle size > roundish, ovate ; skin pale greenish yellow, with 
white specks, and partially russetty ; juice abundant; flesh of a spicy, 
aromatic, pine-apple flavour, hence its name ; ripe in September. 

61. Harrison. This fruit is much celebrated in New Jersey as a cider 
apple ; it is somewhat ovate, below the middle size ; the skin is yellow, with 
black spots ; flesh yellow, firm, rich and sprightly. Ten bushels will make 
a barrel of exquisite cider, 



APRICOT. 237 

62. Campfield, or Newark Sweeting. This apple is next in repu- 
tation, as a cider fruit, to the Harrison, and is often mixed with that apple 
in equal proportions when ground ; it is of the middle size, skin smooth, of 
red and yellow colour ; the flesh is white, firm, sweet, and rich. 

63. Granniwinkle. Fruit of moderate size, rather oblong ; the skin a 
dark red, somewhat rough , flesh yellow, sweet, and rich. It is commonly 
mixed with the Harrison for making cider of a superior quality ; ripe in 
November. 

64. Hewe's Virginia Crab. From this fruit is obtained the celebrated 
Crab Cider; it is of small size, nearly round ; skin of a dull red, streaked 
with greenish yellow; the flesh is fibrous and astringent ; juice acid and 
austere. 

APRICOT. 

1. Red Masculine, Abricot Frccoce, Abricot Hatif Musque, Early 
Masculine. This is an old variety, the fruit of which is small, of a roundish 
form, and greenish red colour ; the pulp is tender ; the tree a good bearer, 
and the fruit esteemed for its earliness and tart taste ; ripens in July. 

2- Hemskirke. Fruit middle sized, roundish, slightly compressed ; of 
a bright yellow colour ; flesh tender, juicy, with a particularly rich, delicate 
flavour, resembling that of the Green Gage Plum ; ripe in July. 

3. Musch-Musch. Fruit round, of a deep yellow colour ; remarkable 
for the transparency of its pulp, through which the stone is visible; the 
flesh is very fine and agreeable ; ripens in July. 

4. Early Orange, Royal George, Royal Orange. The fruit of a 
medium size, of a deep yellow colour, spotted with red or dark purple next 
the sun ; flesh deep orange, succulent and well flavoured ; not perfectly a 
free stone ; ripens early in August. 

5. Breda, Abricot de Hollande, Amande Aveline, Royal Persian. 
Fruit medium size, of a round form, and deep yellow colour ; the pulp is 
soft and j uicy ; the tree a great bearer, and the fruit which ripens early in 
August, is in great esteem. 

6. Brussels. Highly esteemed for its productiveness ; fruit medium 
size, inclining to an oval form ; of a red colour next the sun, covered with 
numerous dark spots ; the flesh is of a greenish yellow colour, of a brisk 
flavour, and not liable to become mealy ; ripens in August. 

7. Moorpark, Hansen's, Temple's, Dunmore's Breda. The tree is of 
vigorous growth, and extraordinarily productive ; the fruit is very large, of 
a bright gold colour, or orange, with dark spots next the sun - } flesh orange 
colour, melting and excellent ; ripens early in September. 

8. Purple, Alexandrian Abricot, Abricot Angoumois, Abricot Violet, 
Black Apricot. A small, globular, downy fruit, a little oblong j of a pale 
red colouri becoming deep red or purple next the sun ; flesh pale red, but 
orange next the stone; a little acid, but good ; ripens in August. 

9. Turkey, Large Turkey. A superior apricot ; fruit of a medium 
size, deep yellow colour, with red blotches next the sun ; form globular ; 
flesh firm, juicy, rich and excellent ; ripe by the end of July. 



288 CHERRY. 

10. Peach Apricot, Abricot Peche, Abricot de Nancy, Imperial Ansons. 
This is a first-rate fruit ; form variable, generally flattened ; skin slightly 
downy ; fawn colour next the sun, tinged with reddish spots or points . 
pulp yellow, melting, juice abundant, high flavoured and excellent ; ripens 
early in August. 

11. Blotched Leaved Roman, Blotched Leaved Turkey, Variegated 
Turkey, Abricot Macule. Tree vigorous and productive ; fruit large size 
and round form; of a deep yellow colour, but the pulp not very juicy ; 
ripens early in August. 

12. Royal, Abricot Royale. This fruit is next in size to the Moorpark, 
rather oval, compressed; of dull yellow colour, slightly red; flesh pale 
orange, firm, juicy, sweet, and high flavoured, with a slight acid ; ripens 
early in August. 

CHERRY. 
The first fourteen varieties are round fruit, the last sixteen heart-shaped. 

1. Early May, Small Early May. This variety is well calculated to 
be trained in espalier form, being naturally dwarfish. The fruit which is 
of small size, is ripe before any other; its taste acid, but pleasant> and the 
skin of a red colour. 

2. May Duke. Fruit medium size, round, and a red colour ; it ripens 
in the beginning of June, and the flesh is of a soft and an agreeable acid ; 
the tree a good bearer, and the fruit excellent. 

3. Late Duke, June Duke. A cherry of large size ; flesh very rich ; 
it ripens in July, and lasts long on the tree, improving in its flavour. The 
tree is of vigorous growth, and an abundant bearer. 

4. Ambree, Cerise Ambree. A large cherry with a round head, flat- 
tened at the opposite end ; marbled with red and yellow in the shade, bright 
red next the sun ; flesh white) somewhat transparent, very juicy, sweet, 
and excellent ; ripe in J une and July. 

5. Arch Duke, Griotte de Portugal, Portugal Duke A large glo- 
bular red cherry ; like the May Duke, it grows in clusters, but the tree 
grows more vigorous than that variety; an excellent cherry, and a great 
bearer ; ripe in July. 

6. Belle de Choisy, Cerise de la Palembree, Cerise Doucette. A 
middle-sized, roundish fruit, growing in paiis on a fofked staik ; skin trans- 
parent, red, mottled with amber ; flesh amber-coloured, tender and sweet. 

7. Carnation; Late Spanish, Wax Carnation. This fruit, which de- 
rives its title from its colour, is of a large size ; the skin is a yellowish white, 
beautifully mottled with red ; the flesh yellow, rather firm, and of a pleasant 
taste, but less sweet than manv other varieties ; the juice is sprightly, and 
of a pale colour. This cherry ripens in July > and is held in high esteem for 
preserves. 

8. Holman's Duke. The branches of this tree are more spreading than 
the May Duke ; the frui is larger, of equally fine flavour, and ripens about 
two or three weeks later. 



CHERRY. 2g9 

9. Prince's Duke. This cherry was raised in the Flushing Nursery 
from the seed of a Carnation (Jherry. The fruit is of a red colour, shaped 
like that of its parent, and much compressed ; very rich and luscious when 
at perfect maturity, which is in July. 

10. Kentish. Cerisier de Montmorency, Long Stem Montmorency 
Fruit of a bright red colour ; ripens in July, and has an agreeable acid fla- 
vour ; tree a great bearer, and fruit much esteemed when full ripe : the skin 
is then of a dark red colour. 

11. Short Stem Montmorency, Montmorency a gros fruit, Gros 
Gobet, Gobet a Courte Queue, Cerise de Vilainet Cerisier Coulard. — 
This tree produces abundance of flowers, but the French complain that the 
fruit does not set well; it is therefore found only in the gardens of those 
who prefer the fine quality to the quantity of fruit. The cherry is large, 
flattened at both ends ; the skin is of a brilliant red, and not very dark ; the 
flesh is yellowish white, slightly acid, and highly pleasant. This fruit is 
considered by some as one of the best cultivated ; it ripens in July. 

12. Morello, Milan, Cerise du Nord, English Morello. The fruit 
medium sized, round; nearly black when at maturity ; tree a great bearer J 
the fruit will keep late, and is excellent for preserving and for brandy. 

13. Plumstone Morello. A tree of moderate size, of the Duke or 
Kentish species; a very large, dark, round cherry, nearly black; of a rich 
acid flavour. The stone is very large, and resembles that of a plum; a 
native of Virginia, introduced by Wm. Prince, Esq. of the Linneean Bo- 
tanic Garden, Flushing. 

14. Waterloo. A large, round, dark fruit, inclining to black at matu- 
rity; the flesh is firm and of an excellent flavour; raised by a daughter of 
Mr. Knight, and so named from its perfecting its fruit soon after the battle 
of Waterloo. The tree is of strong but irregular growth. 

15. Gascoign's Bleemxg Heapt. Fruit large, oblong, or heart-shaped, 
of a dark red co'our ; its flesh pretty firm, of a pleasant and fine flavour ; 
ripe early in July. 

16- Bigarreaux, Graffion, Turkey Bigarreau, White Ox Heart.— 
Very large, obtuse, heart-shaped, yellowish amber colour, but fine red next 
the sun: flesh firm, white, sweet, and well flavoured : a beautiful and ex- 
cellent fruit, not very productive : ripein June and July. 

17. Black Eagle. A cherry of globular form, and middle size : dark 
purple or nearly black : flesh very lender, rich, and of excellent flavour, and 
ripens early. The tree grows strong and very upright. 

18. Black Heart, Guignier a Fruit Noir. Fruit rather large, heart- 
shaped : dark purple, approaching to black at maturity: flesh dark red, 
tender, of excellent flavour : ripe early in July : tree a good bearer. 

19. Black Tartarian, Black Circassian, Fraser's Black Tartarian, 
Black Russian, Ronald' c Large Black Heart, Fraser's Black Heart. — ■ 
A very large, heart-shaped fruit, of a most supeiior quality: colour dark 
shining purple, or black : flesh firm, dark red or purple, -;weet, and of most 
excellent flavour. The tree and fruit combine an assemblage of good quali- 

25 



290 CHERRY. 

ties; an elegant, very rapid growing tree, of great productiveness: very 
large and beautiful fruit, and excellent quality : ripening in June and July. 

20. White Tartarian, White Transparent Crimea, Fra^er's White. 
A beautiful cherry, pale yellow, approaching to an amber next the sun : a 
much admired fruit, of excellent flavour: a good bearer, ripening early in 
July- This tree grows vigorous and upright : it is thus readily distin- 
guished from another variety, bearing the same title. 

21. Black Carone, Couronne Coroun. This is a large and improved 
variety of the Black Mazzard, which it resembles in form, colour, and gene- 
ral properties ; the fruit ripens in July : the tree yields plentiful crops. 

22. Herefordshire Black, Late Black Heart. Large black, and 
heart-shaped: a most excellent cherry, and a great bearer: and more va- 
luable for ripening late, when most other varieties are gone. 

23. Elkhorn, Black Ox Heart. A large cherry, ripening between the 
Black Heart and its varieties: its flesh remarkably hard, and very peculiar: 
and though not highly flavoured, it is supposed by some, that from it? solid 
consistence, it may be profitably cultivated, to be transported from a dis- 
tance to market. 

24. Elton. This tree is very vigorous and productive: the fruit is 
pretty large, heart-shaped : pale glossy yellow in the shade, but marbled with 
bright led next the sun: flesh firm, sweet and rich : ripens early in July. 

23. Florence. Large, heart-shaped, depressed: of a yellow amber 
colour, marbled with bright red in the shade, bright red next the sun : tole- 
rably firm, juicy, rich and sweet •. ripe end of June. 

26. Harrison's Heart, Red Ox Heart. A large heart-shaped cherry, 
yellowish or amber colour, but light red next the sun : flesh tender and 
highly flavoured: ripens early in July. 

27. Knight's Early Black. — Blossoms early; fruit resembles the 
Waterloo: of a rich dark hue : its flesh is firm and juicy : it is abundantly 
sweet, and ripens by the middle of June. 

28. Remington- White Heart. A moderate sized cherry, of pleasant 
flavour : chiefly valuable for its very late maturity : it is said to have origi- 
nated in Rhode Island. 

29. White Heart. This cherry ripens immediately after the May 
Duke : the fruit is of medium size, oblong, and heart-shaped ; the skin is of 
a fine appearance, being a yellowish while on the one side, and tinged with 
pale red next the sun ; the flesh is rather firm, of pleasant flavour, accom- 
panied by honied sweetness : but the tree hears very indifferently. 

30. Downton. A new variety raised by Mr. Knight. Fruit rather 
round, inclining to heart-shape : of a pale yellow colour, sprinkled with mi- 
nute red spots, and large patches of dull red or maroon : flesh pale amber 
colour, tender and juicy, very sweet and high flavoured: ripens early in 
July. 



291 

NECTARINE. 

The first thirteen varieties are freestones, the last seven are pavies, or 
clingstones. 

1. Fairchild's Early. Fruit very early, but small ; of globular shape, 
yellow in the shade, deep scarlet next the sun : flesh j^ellow, not juicy, but 
well flavoured : ripens early in August. 

2. Miller's Elkuge. One of the very best and most high flavoured 
nectarines : fruit medium size, of a dark red and pale yellow colour : pulp 
melting, very juicy, rich and high flavoured : ripens middle of August. 

3. Early Violet, Violette Hative, Petite Violetie Hative, Lord Sel. 
sey's ElrugCy Large Scarlet. Fruit variable in size, generally medium ; 
pale yellowish green, but darkish purple red next the sun : flesh melting, 
juicy, rich and excellent : ripe in August. 

4. Pitmaston's Orange. A good sized globular, or heart-shaped fruit, 
of a rich yellow colour, but dark crimson or purple next (he sun: flesh gold- 
en yellow, but red next the stoae, from which it separates : il is melting, 
juicy, saccharine and high flavoured; ripe middle to end of August. 

5. Vermash, True Vermash. This fruit is of rather small size, and 
round form, tapering towards the eye : the skin is a very deep red colour 
next the sun, and of greenish hue on the other side; pulp rich, melting 
and juicy. The fruit is at maturity in August. 

6. Aromatic A middle sized, rather globular fruit, deep red or brown 
next the sun : flesh pale straw, but red at the stone : juice of a rich vinous 
flavour: ripe by the end of August. 

7. White Nectarine, Old White,BrugnonBlane Musquee, Nectarine 
Blanche de Weitzenfeld- Fruit middle sized, roundish : colour verj pale 
yellowish green> becoming almost white in the shade, and slightly tinged 
with red next the sun \ flesh tender and juicy, with a fine vinous flavour ; 
ripens early in September. 

8. Common Elruge. Fruit large, roundish, inclining to oval : skin deep 
violet or blood colour when exposed, with minute brownish specks, paler in 
the shade: flesh whitish, melting, very juicy, rich and high flavoured j a 
much esteemed fruit, ripening early. 

9. Scarlet. Fruit medium size, of a beautiful scarlet colour next tho 
sun, and pale red on the shaded side ; the flesh separates from the stone, and 
is at maturity in August. 

10. Temples. A fruit below medium size, rather oblong : pale red next 
the sun : flesh white: it shrivels when ripe : very juicy, rich, and of fine 
flavour, and is at maturity in September. 

11. Pet rborough, Late Green. The fruit is of medium size » round 
form, and always of a green colour: the part next the sun being of the 
deepest green, and the other of a paler hue : the flesh is firm and of pleasant 
flavour: and the fruit lasts till October. 

12. Murray. Fruit medium size, dingy red and pale green colour, and 
has a rich juicy flavour. A much esteemed fruit. 



292 PEACH. 

13. White, ok Flanders Nectarine, New White, Emmerson's New 
White. A middle sized, roundish, very pale fruit, slightly tinged with red 
next the sun: flesh tender and juicy, with a fine vinous flavour. The 
Pomological Magazine describes this as a clingstone ; Lindley as a freestone. 

14. Early Newington, Lucombe's Seedling. Fruit large, ripens in 
August, and is of a deep red colour : pulp super-excellent ; considered by 
some as the best of all nectarines. 

15- Italian, Erugnon or Italian. A large globular or pale yellow fruit, 
marbled with dark red next the sun ; flesh firm, yellow, red at the stone, 
juicy, rich and excellent : ripe in August. 

16. Brugnon Violet M usque, Brugnon Musque. Fruit large, of a 
deep red and yellow colour : skin very smooth: flesh yellow, but red at the 
stone : saccharine, vinous, musky : at maturity in September. 

17. Golden. Fruit medium size, of the finest orange colour, delicately 
and beautifully mottled with red next the sun, which gives to it a clear 
waxen appearance ; flesh firm, yellow, pale red at the stone, and has a poig- 
nant, rich flavour ; ripens in September. 

18. Red Roman, Roman Red. Avery excellent nectarine, of large 
size ; the skin dark red next the sun, and of a yellowish hue on the 
other side ; flesh yellowish, but red next the stone ; it abounds with rich 
juice when fully ripe, which is about the middle of September. 

19. Scarlet Newington, Late Newington, Old Newington. This 
variety is much esteemed; the fruit large, of a beautiful red colour next 
'he sun, and a fine yellow on the other side ; its quality is excellent, being 
rich and juicy ; ripe by the middle of September. 

20. Tawny Newington. Fruit largish,, somewhat ovate; tawny- 
coloured, marbled with dull red or orange next the sun ; flesh pale yellow, 
but red at the stone ; very juicy, sugary, and of the most delicious flavour ; 
ripens in September. 

PEACH. 

The first forty varieties are freestones, the last fourteen pavies or 
clingstones. 

1. White Nutmeg, Avant Peche Blanche. — Fruit small, round, 
and of white colour ; juice sugary and musky ; esteemed for being the first 
sort ripe.— July. 

2. Early Orange, Yellow rare ripe, Yellow Malacotan.— Fruit 
under a medium size, inclining to the oval shape, apex full, with a small 
tip ; skin greenish yellow ; flesh a fine yellow, juice rich and sweet, but not 
plentiful. There are several varieties under the same name, some of which 
are inferior to the true Orange Peach. 

3. Green Nutmeg, Early Anne. — This variety is said to have 
originated in Berkshire, England. The fruit is of a round form ; colour 
yellowish green, tinged with red ; pulp melting, juicy, and of very pleasant 
flavour; the tree is a good bearer, and the fruit ripens early in August. 
Murray's Early Anne is a variety raised from the seed of this. 

4. Neil's Early Purple, Early Purple of Miller, Johnson's Purple 



PEACH. 293 

Avant, Padley's Early Purple, Veritable Pourpree Hative, Peche du 
Vin. — One of the most beautiful of peaches ; of largest size, and of a 
fine deep 'red and purplish colour; it ripens in the middle of August; 
flesh melting, juicy, with a rich vinous flavour ; an excellent fruit. 

5. Montaubon. — Fruit round, of medium size ; colour dark red, 
approaching to purple next the sun, but of yellowish green on the other 
side; flesh tender, melting, rich, juicy, and of pleasant flavour; ripens in 
August. 

£. Sweet Water, Early Sweet Water. — This variety is said to have 
originated at Flushing; its f.rm is round, and its colour whitish green at 
maturity, which is early in August ; the flesh is very tender, melting, rich 
and juicy. 

7. Brevoort's Seedling Melter. — A superior peach, raised by 
Henry Brevoort, &sq., of New- York ; skin of a dingy white colour, 
tinged with red ; flesh white, firm, rich, and sugary ; ripe by the middle of 
August. 

8. Petite Mignonne, Double de Troyes, Peche de Troyes, Mig- 
nonette. — The tree is of feeble growth, but productive; skin downy, 
pale yellow, but red next the sun; flesh melting, juice abundant, and of 
fine flavour ; ripens in August. 

9. Emperor of Russia, Serrated Leaf, or Unique. — The tree is of 
medium vigour, but the young wood is said to be subject to mildew ; the 
fruit, which ripens early in August, is deeply cleft, one half of it projecting 
considerably beyond the other ; the flavour of the flesh is very good. This 
sort originated in New-Jersey twenty years ago, and all the stones of this 
fruit are said to produce plants with jagged leaves. 

10. Washington Peach.— A first Tate peach ; colour a pale yellow in 
the shade, but dark red next the sun ; flesh very juicy and delicious ; ripens 
towards the end of August. 

11. Madeleine de Courson, Madeleine Roitge, Rouge Paysanne,Red 
Magdalen of Miller. — An excellent fruit, of large size, and fine red 
colour; ripens at the end of August; flesh firm, white, very red at the 
stone ; sugary and very rich. 

12. Double Montagne.— A beautiful and excellent peach of middle 
size ; skin greenish white, but soft red, marbled with a deeper red next the 
sun ; flesh melting ; juice plentiful and highly flavoured ; ripe in August. 

13. Spring Grove.— A medium sized fruit; of a globular form ; 
greenish yellow, but bright crimson next the sun ; pulp juicy, rich, and 
highly flavoured ; ripens in August. 

14. White Magdalen. — Fruit rather large and round, slightly 
striped with red, and of a yellowish white colour ; it ripens in August : 
flesh white, fine, melting, and pretty high flavoured. 

15. Belle Chevereuse. — Fruit medium siae, oblong form, and of 
a red and yellow colour ; ripens in the end of August ; the pulp is rich, 
juicy, and sugary; tree a good bearer, and the fruit highly esteemed. 

16. Malta, Peche Malte, Belle de Paris, Malle de Normandic— 

25* 



294 PEACH. 

Fruit above the medium size : pale yellowish green, marbled with purplish 
red; flesh yellowish, juicy, rich, vinous, and of superiour flavour ; ripens 
at the end of August. 

17. Acton Scott — Fruit below the medium size ; colour pale 
yellow, but bright red, and marbled next the sun ; flesh melting, juicy, and 
pretty good. 

18. Royal Kensington. — Fruit of a high red and yellow colour; 
flesh rich and juicy when at maturity, which is early in September ; a 
first rate peach. 

19. Noblesse. — The tree is of a vigorous growth, and very produc- 
tive; fruit large, and of a pale red colour; pulp juicy, rich, and melting, 
when at maturity, which is early in September. 

20. Van Zandt's Superb, Waxen Rareripe. — This variety originated 
with Mr. Van Zandt, of Flushing ; its skin is smooth, somewhat mottled, 
and of a beautiful waxen appearance ; flesh melting, and of excellent 
flavour. 

21. Grosse Mignon, Veloutce de Merlet, Grimwood's Royal George, 
Large French Mignon, Vineuse. — One of the most beautiful and 
delicious varieties in cultivation. The fruit is large, of a beautiful red 
or rose colour, and greenish yellow, pulp tender, juicy and high flavoured 
when in perfection, which is early in September. 

22. Bellegarde, Galande, Violeite Halivc, Noire de Monlreuil. — 
The tree is vigorous and productive ; fruit medium size, much coloured, 
and almost black ; flesh firm, saccharine and juicy ; a first-rate fruit. 

23. George the fourth. — An excellent peach, of medium size and 
globular shape; of pale yellow colour in the shade, and dark red next the 
sun ; flesh yellow, but red at the stone from which it separates; a fruit of 
very superior flavour when at maturity, which is early in September ; it 
originated in the garden of Mr. Gill, Broad street, New- York. 

24. Double Swalsh. — Fruit middle sized, ovate; skin pale 
yellow, but bright deep red next the sun ; flesh soft, melting and juicy ; an 
excellent peach : ripe early in September. 

25. Belle de Vitry. — A large fruit, of fine red colour next the sun, 
on the opposite side a ytllowish white ; form globular ; flesh white, stained 
with red at the stone; melting, juicy, sweet, vinous and excellent; ripe in 
September. 

26. Bourdine, Bourdin Narlonne. — The fruit is large, round, 
sometimes a point at its summit ; d<ep red next the sun; flesh melting, 
sweet and vinous ; in perfection by the middle of September ; a first-rate 
peach. 

27. R-AMBouiLr et, Rambullion. — The fruit is of rather large size 
and oval form, with a deep sature ; it is of a fine red next the sun, and yel- 
lowish on the shaded side ; flesh bright yellow, melting, with rich and 
vinous juice; it ripens in September. 

28. Smooth Leaved Royal George. — This is considered by Lindley 
as a superior variety : fruit above the middle size, globular, depressed ; skin 



peach. 295 

yellowish white, but of a beautiful red or carmine colour next the sun: 
flesh melting: juice plentiful, and of a high vinous flavour: ripening in 
September. 

29. Rosanna, Alberge Jaune, Peche Jaune Rosanne, St. Laurent 
Jaune, Yellow Alberge, Petite Rousanne. — A middle sized, globular 
fruit, of a yellow colour, but next the sun deep red at maturity: a deep 
sature extends from summit to base : flesh melting, juicy, rich, sweet, 
vinous and excellent : at perfection in September. 

30. Royal George Mignonne. — A superior fruit, of globular form: 
its colour yellow and deep red: flesh melting, juicy, saccharine, vinous and 
most excellent : ripe in September. 

31. White Blossom. Willow Peach, White Blossomed Incomparable. 
— This variety originated on Long Island : the fruit is perfectly white, of 
an oval form and handsome appearance : the flesh is also white, melting, 

juicy and pleasant; it is much used for preserves when not over ripe, and 
is at full maturity in September. 

32. Red Cheek Malacatune, Yellow Malagaton, Alberge Incompa- 
rable. — This variety originated at the Flushing Nursery : the fruit is 
of large size and oval form : its colour is yellow, with a red cheek on the 
sunny side: the flesh is also yellow, melting, rich, juicy and luscious. 
There is another variety of this fruit, which originated with Mr. Poll's, of 
New York, said to be very productive, and of excellent quality : ripens 
in September. 

33. Neivette, Velontee Tardive. — Fruit large, a little oblong, 
downy, green in the shade, and deep red next the sun : flesh firm, saccha- 
rine and high flavoured : ripens towards the end of September. 

84. Late Admirable, Royale, Royal, Bourdine — Fruit large 
roundish, inclining to oblong : sature deeply impressed along one side, 
having the flesh swelling boldly and equally on both sides, with a slight 
impression on the summit : skin downy, of pale green colour, streaked 
with dull tawny red : flesh white, delicate,melting, juicj> and high flavoured : 
a " magnificent peach," ripening in September. Mr. Prince has the 
Teton de Venus under this head as a synonyme ; but it is generally consi- 
dered as a distinct variety. Mr. Kenrick says, that there are two or three 
varieties named Teton de Venus. 

35. President. — This variety originated at Bedford, on Long 
Island. It is a rich, melting, juicy fruit, ripening in September; it is of 
large size, roundish, with a shallow sature : skin very downy, dull red next 
the sun, pale yellowish green in the shade : a first-rate peach. 

36. Hoffman's Pound. — This fruit is by some called the Morris- 
sania, from its having been first obtained by Mr. Floy, from Governeur 
Morris ; but it originated with Martin Boffman, Esq. of New- York. The 
fruit is very large, weighing from twelve to fourteen ounces; very juicy and 
delicious, parting from the stone ; greatly esteemed from its ripening late, 
about the middle of October. 

ST. Monstrous Lemon, Largest Lemon. — This variety was first dis- 
covered in the garden of Mr. Tiebout, of York Island : the fruit is of the 



296 PEACH. 

largest size, and in the gardens of two persons in New- York, has weighed 
seventeen ounces, as stated by Mr. Prince. He says the tree does not 
bear well, unless the situation is a sheltered one : the fruit is late in 
ripening. 

38. Heath Freestone, Kenrick's Heath.— This variety was first 
obtained from the late General Heath, of Roxbury, near Boston. The 
fruit is very large, oblung and beautiful; frequently weighing half a pound : 
colour pale yellowish green, with crimson or violet next the sun ; its fiesh 
is melting, juicy, rich, vinous, agreeably acid, and good ; ripens in October. 

39. Alo uus's Red Free Stone, Red Rare Ripe — Fruit nearly 
round, of large size, apex a little sunken ; skin greenish white, with red 
cheek ; flesh whitish and melting. Ripe towards the end of August and 
September. 

40. Morris's White Freestone, White Rare Ripe, Philadelphia 
Freestone. — Fruit large, and inclining to the oval form, sature even, 
but not deep ; apex a little sunken ; flesh white, or rather yellowish ; juice 
rich and sweet. Ripe towards the end of September. 

41. Heath. Heath's Clingstone. Mr Prince says, that the original 
tree of this variety was discovered growing wild on the farm of the late 
Judge Willet, of Flushing, and took its name from its being found in a 
barren field. The fruit is very large, of oval or oblong form ; the s-kin is 
white ; the flesh is peculiarly rich and highly flavoured, tender, melting and 
iuicv. There is another variety mentioned by Mr. Kenriek, and called by 
the eame name, stated by Mr. Coxe to have been raised from a stone 
brought by Mr. Heath from the Mediterranean. 

42. Early Newington, Smith's Newington, New-York Early Neio- 
ington. A much esteemed fruit ; its colour in the shade is white, 
but next the sun red ; its form is globular ; its flesh is juicy, rich and high 
flavoured. The tree is productive, and the fruit matures in August and 
September. 

43. Pavie Admirable, Incomparable. Fruit large, roundish ; skin 
pale yellow, shaded with scarlet or deep crimson next the sun ; flesh pale 
yellow, juice sugary and well flavoured. 

44. Lemon Clingstone, Pine Apple, or Kennedy's Lemon. The 
fruit is rather large, oblong ; colour, in the shade deep yellow, but of a dark 
red next the sun ; the flesh is yellow, rich vinous, a little acid. 

45. Prince's Blood Clingstone, Blood Clingstone, Claret Cling, 
stone. The fruit is oval, and of a large size ; the skin is of a dark 
purplish colour, and very downy ; the flesh is of a crimson or purplish tint ; 
suited for preserves and pickles. 

46. Monstrous Pavie of Pompoone, Gros Molecolon, Gros Persique 
Rouge. Fruit very large and round, downy, of a fine red and 
greenish white colour ; flesh white, deep red at the stone, juicy and vinous, 
excellent for preserving ; tree a good bearer. 

47. Old Newington. The fruit is large and globular, of a fine 
bright red and pale yellow colour : flesh yellowish white, very juicy, rich 
sweet, and well flavoured , very productive. 



pka». 297 

48 Diana. A large, oblong peach ; colour white in the shade, but 
red next the sun ; flesh very juicy and delicious. 

49. Pavie Magdaleine, Pavie Blanc, Malecoton, Myrecoton, Per- 
sique a Gros Fruit Blanc. The fruit is large and downy ; white in the 
shade, and red next the sun ; flesh white, fine, melting, and of an agree- 
able musky flavonr. 

50. Hoyte's Lemon Clingstone. This fruit is of the largest size ; 
of a clear golden yellow in the shade, but bright red next the sun ; its form 
resembles a lemon, and some have weighed twelve ounces ; its flesh is firm, 
and is at maturity in New- York by the end of September. 

51- Yellow Alberge Clingstone, Persais d'Angoumois, Pavie Jaun; 
Persecque Jaune. Fruit of fine size and beautiful form ; the skin is 
velvety yellow where shaded, and speckled with reddish points; the flesh is 
firm, rather dry, and almost breaking ; its colour is yellow. It is deemed an 
excellent fruit. 

52. Catharine. Fruit large, round, variable; colour a beautiful 
red next the sun, marbled and dashed with darker shades ; pale yellow in 
the shade ; flesh very white, tinged with yellow ; juice abundant, and of 
very rich and sweet flavour ; tree a good bearer. 

53. New-York White Clingstone, Williamson's New-York. Fruit 
large, round , with a pointed apex ; skin white, tinged with rose ; flesh 
yellow, melting or soft, but adhering close to the stone ; juice very plentiful 

sweet, luscious, and high flavoured. Ripe in September. 

54. Braddick's North American, or, American Clingstone. Fruit 
middle sized ; skin pale yellow, tinged with red ; flesh pale yellow, quite to 
the stone, to which it firmly adheres; juice plentiful and good Ripe in 
September. 

PEAR. 

The first 18 are Summer, the second 24 Autumn, the third 19 Winter 
Pears, and the last 6 are Perry Pears. 

1. Musk Robine, Poire a la Reine, La Princesse, Queen's Pear, 
Muscat Robert, Poire d'Ambre. Fruit small, and of yellow colour ; it 
ripens in July, and continues to the end of August; of a rich musky 
flavour, a great bearer, and much esteemed dessert fruit. 

2. London Sugar. This fruit is below medium size; colour 
greenish yellow, tinged with brown ; form turbinate, narrowed at the 
crown ; flesh tender, melting saccharine, of a rich musky flavour ; an excel- 
lent early fruit, and very productive. Ripe in July, 

3. Madeleine, Magdalene, Citron des Carmes, Early Chaumontelle. 
This pear is of medium size, pale yellow, with an occasional blush next Xhe 
sun ; flesh white, melting, perfumed. A fine old fruit, ripe at the end of 
July. 

4. Premature. A new pear, about the size of the Crawford, but more 
juicy and delicious, and remarkably early ; it commands a good prioe in the 
markets of Edinburgh, Scotland, and is reputed a most superior early fruit. 



298 PEAR. 

5. Jargonelle, Epargne, Beau Present, Saint Samson, Grosse 
Cuisse Madame, Saint Lambert, Poire des Tables des Princes, Fruit 
rather large, oblong, of a pale green colour; flesh melting, juicy, with a 
slightly acid, rich and agreeable flavour. It ripens early in August, is one 
of the most productive of all pears, and the very best in its season. 

6. Cuisse Madame, Epine d'Ete, Fondante Musque, Satin Vert, 
Satin Green Fruit of smallish size ; greenish yellow at maturity ; 
pyramidal ; flesh melting, juicy, musky, rich and excellent. Ripe by the 
middle of August. 

7 Green Chissel. Fruit nearly globular ; skin green, but 
slightly brown next the sun ; flesh gritty, saccharine, a little perfumed ; 
the fruit grows iu clusters, and ripens early in August. The tree is of feeble 
growth, hut very productive. 

8. August Muscat, Aurate, Muscat d'Aout^ Musk, or Spice. Fruit 
of medium size ; turbinate, flattened ; colour yellow, but light red next the 
sun; fiesh breaking, saccharine and perfumed. It succeeds tolerably on 
the qmnce. an I ripens early in August. 

9. Cassolette. Friolet, Lechefrion, Muscat Verd, Poire de Sillerie, 
Verdasce, Green Muscat. A small pyriform fruit, of a bright green 
colour, slightly red next the sun; flesh breaking, of a sweet and musky 
flavour; ripens in August. 

10 Sabine d'Ete. This pear is of pyramidal form, terminating in a 
round blunt point at the stalk ; colour yellow, but fine scarlet next the sun ; 
the whole surface smooth, regular, and polished ; flesh white, melting, juicy 
and highly perfumed : the tree is an abundant bearer, and ripens its fruit 
in August. 

11. Seigneur d'Ete. Fruit above the middle size ; a blunt oval ; colour 
fine orange, but bright scarlet next the sun, and marbled ; flesh melting, 
free from grit ; a rich and beautiful pear. The tree is handsome, and bears 
well; its fruit ripens early in September. 

» 12. Rousselet de Rheims, Petit Rou.selet. Fruit small pyramidal, 
greenish yellow at maturity, but brown red next the sun, with russetty spots; 
flesh half b 'urre, fine, very perfumed . Good to put la brandy, and to 
dry. Ripens end of August. 

13. Williams' Bonchretien, Bartlet. — This fruit originated with a 
Mr. Wheeler, in Berkshire, England, but was subsequently extensively 
propagated by Mr. Williams, near London — hence its name. The fruit is 
large, ublong; the stalk thick and fleshy, an inch long; the colour at ma- 
turity \eiii. , tinged with reJ ; flesh whitish, very melting) and delicate; 
juice perfumed, sweet and abundant. Tree very productive, and fruit ripe 
by the end of August. 

14. Windsor, Cuhse Madame of the French. A middle sized oblong 
pear; colour green, but brownish red next the sun ; half melting, sweet, a 
little musky, rather coarse ; ripe by the end of August. 

15. Summb < Bonchretien, Bonchretien d 1 Ete, Gracioli, of the French. 
Fruit very large, irregular, knobby ; skin smooth, of pale yellow colour, 



PEAR. 299 

but slightly red next the sun; flesh whitish yellow, firm and breaking; 
juice sweet and very agreeable. It ripens early in Sepl ember. 

16. Summer Bkrgamot, Hamden's Bergamot, Milan Blanc, Bcrgamot 
d'Ele, Milan de la Bcuvriere. Fruit of meJium size, globular, depressed ; 
colour greenish yellow, russetted and speckled next the s? un ; flesh melting, 
juicy, saccharine, and high flavoured. At maturity by the middle of Sep- 
tember. 

17. Deakborn's Seedling. This new variety originated in the garden 
of the Hon. H. A. S. Dearborn, of Roxhury. The tree is of vigorous 
growth; fruit of medium size, rounded at the crown, and regularlv dimi- 
nishes in a parabolic manner to the stalk ; the skin is smooth, thin green 
with russet spots ; at maturity it turns to a delicate yellow ; fle^h very melt- 
ing, and of the finest flavour. 

18. Julienne, ofCoxe, V Archiduc V 'Ete, Summer Beurre, Summer 
Doyenne, Summer St. Michael, so called near Boston, Bloodgood Pear of 
New-York. Fruit medium size, smooth, bright yellow at maturity, with 
a faint blush next the sun; form rather ovate, tapering towards the 
stalk ; flesh perfectly melting, rich and juicy. The tree bears young, and 
most profusely, and matures its fruit early in September. 

19. Autumn Colmar. Fruit middle size, oblong; of a pale yellow 
colour, with much thin russet next the sun ; flesh rather gritty but mellow 
with a sugary and slightly perfumed juice. A new, hardy, Flemish variety, 

ripening its fruit early in October. 

20. Belle et Bonne, Schone undgute, Belle de Bruxelles. "A har- 
vest pear, magnificent," very large, globular, depressed, the stalk long; skin 
greenish yellow, but next the sun yellow, with spots of russet; flesh white 
sweet, exceeding rich and agreeably perfumed. The tree is very produc- 
tive, and the fruit ripens in September. 

21. Moor Fowl Egg. Fruit small, [globular, ovate, swollen in the 
middle, orange brown next the sun, with spots of russet ; flesh yellowish 
white, a little gritty, tender, mellow, saccharine, a little perfumed. This is 
a hardy Scotch fruit ; ripe end of September. 

22. Bezy de Montigny, Trouve de Montigny. Fruit medium size, 
pyramidal, compressed towards the summit; colour yellow ; flesh white, a 
little gritty, very melting; sweet, musky. It succeeds on the quince. 
Ripe in September. 

23. Elton. A pear of medium size? oval form, broadest towards the 
crown; colour greenish russetty gray, but russetty orange next the sun ; 
fl esh breaking, and of an excellent flavour. Ripe in September. 

24. Delices d'Ardenpont, Delices d 1 Hardenpont de Toulouse. Fruit 
medium size; skin a little thick, smooth, green, but yellow at maturity; flesh 
white, nearly melting; juice pleasant, sweet and abundant. Ripe in 
October. 

25. Seckle. An excellent native fruit, size varying from small to 
medium ; colour varying from yellowish to brownish russet ; but generally 
red next the sun ; flesh of a melting, spicy, and of a most extraordinary rich 



300 PEAK. 

and delicious flavour. It ripens the middle of September, and the fruit 
grows in clusters, in great abundance. 

26. Urbaniste- The fruit is pyramidally ovate; skin pale green, incli- 
ning to yellow ; flesh white, but reddish yellow next the core ; it is quite 
melting, juicy, and very sweet, with a little perfume. It ripens fiom the 
middle of September to November. 

27. Marie Louise. Fruit oblong, tapering towards both ends ; size 
varying from medium to large ; skin nearly smooth, yellowish green, and 
cinnamon coloured russet ; flesh white, melting, juicy and rich. It ripens 
in October, and is described as an excellent fruit. 

28. Doyenne Santelete. A new, fine, handsome Flemish pear; fruit 
above the middle size, pyramidally oblong; skin pale green, speckled with 
gray russet ; flesh white, a little gritty, but tender : juice saccharine, with 
a slight musky perfume. The tree is hardy, and ripens its fruit early in 
October. 

29. Gray Doyenne, Red Doyenne, Doyenne Gris, Doyenne Roux, 
Doyenne d'Automne. Fruit medium sized ; colour bright crimson russet, 
but red next the sun ; flesh yellowish white, melting, saccharine, rich, and 
of excellent flavour. Season, October and November. 

30. Ashton Town. The fruit is small, of a greenish colour, spotted 
with russet ; the flesh is melting, high flavoured, richly sugared and per- 
fumed It is in perfection in October and November. 

31. Autumn Burgamot, Common Bergamot. Ycrk Bergamot. Fruit 
globular, Jepressed, I he skin rough, yellowish green, and dull brown ; flesh 
pale, melting, juicy, sugary, and perfumed ; ripe in September and October. 
A first-rate pear. 

32. Golden Beurre of Bilboa. Fruit of medium size ; oblong; co- 
lour a bright golden yellow, with patches of russet; perfectly melting? and 
of fine flavour. A beautiful fruit, a great bearer, and worthy of cultivation. 

33. Hacon's Incomparable. Fruit middle sized, of pale yellow colour, 
mixed with green, partially covered with orange russet ; flesh yellowish 
white, slightly gritty, but very tender, juicy sweet and rich ; and possessing 
a higli musky and perfumed flavour. The tree is a great bearer, and the 
fruit excellent, and is in perfection in November and December. A silver 
medal was given for a specimen of this fruit, as a prize, in England, 1830. 

34. Duchess of Angoulf.me, Duchcsse d'Angoulemc. A pear of first- 
rate excellence. Form roundish, oblong, tapering towards the stalk ; skin 
dull yellow, , with broad russet patches; flesh rich, melting, very juicy, and 
high flavoured, with a most agreeable perfume. Specimens of this fruit 
have been seen in England, weighing twenty-two ounces. In perfection in 
November and December. 

35. Green' Sylvange, Sylvange Vert, Bergamotte Sylvange. A 
most superior pear, above the medium size, of green colour, skin rough, and 
speckled with gray or black. The flesh is greenish near the skin, white in 
in the centre, soft, saccharine and juicy, i ruit in perfection from October 
to January. The tree is a great bearer, and specimens of the fruit have 
been known to weigh thirteen ounces. 



PEAR. 301 

36\ Bishop's Thumb. Fruit over medium size, very oblong ; it is twice 
as long as broad, and tapers to its summit ; colour dark green, and brownish 
red, with iron-coloured russet ; flesh yellowish green, melting, juicy, rich, 
and excellent, ripening in October. 

37. Brown Beurre, Beurre Rouge, Beurre dPOr, Beurre Dote, 
Beurre du Roi, Beurre d'Amboise, Isambert, Red Beurre, Golden 
Beurre. This was formerly considered the best of all pears. Fruit rather 
large, of greenish yellow, and dusky red colour, covered with thin russet ; 
flesh melting, buttery, rich and excellent. In perfection in October, and 
will often keep till January. 

38. Princesse d'Orange, Princess of Orange. The fruit is roundish ; 
the skin bright reddish orange russet ; flesh yellowish white, sugary and 
rich, in some seasons perfectly melting, but occasionally a little gritty. A 
beautiful pear, and of good quality in October. 

39. Swin's Egg. Fruit small, oval, turbinate ; colour yellowish green, 
and dull russetty brown ; flesh tender and melting, with a rich, saccharine, 
musky flavour. An excellent fruit, ripe in October. The tree is remark- 
ably tall, upright, vigorous and productive. 

40. Charles dAutriche, Charles of Austria, A fine and beautiful 
fruit, large, three and a half inches long, and three inches broad ; colour 
greenish yellow, with brown spots and partly russetted ; flesh white, melt- 
ing, juicy, and delicious. Ripe in October. 

41. Gansel, s Burgamot, Broca's Burgamot, Ives's Burgamot, Bonne 
Rouge. Fruit varying from middle size to large ; ovate, flattened ; colour 
dull green, slightly red next the sun ; flesh white, melting, sweet, rich and 
high flavoured. A delicious pear, ripe in October and good till Christmas. 

42. Napoleom, Medaile 1 Sauvageon Liart. Fruit large, form of the 
Colmar ; skin smooth; colour bright green, but at maturity, pale green; 
flesh very melting, with an unusual abundance of rich agreeable juice. 
At perfection in October and November. 

43. Buepre d'Aremb;-:rg, Beurre d'Arembert, Due d 1 Ar ember g, Poire 
d'Aremberg, Beurre Dcschamps, Beurre Orphelins of Deschamps. The 
English and French writers speak of this pear as one of the best in cultiva- 
tion. The tree isa great bearer, comes early into cultivation, and the fruit 
will keep till March. Fruit large turbinate ; skin of a delicate pale gre en 
dotted with russet, which becomes of a deeper yellow at maturity; flesh 
whitish, fine, very juicy, perfectly melting, and very extraordinary rich, 
sweet, high flavoured, and excellent. 

44. Easter Burgamot, Bergamotte Bugi, Bergamotte de Paques, 
Bergamctte d'Hiver, La Grillieu, Paddington, Tarlin , Winter Berga- 
mot. Fruit rather large, short, roundish turbinate ; swollen at the crown ; 
colour yellow at maturity; half beurre ; sweet and good. In perfection from 
December to May. 

45. Francreal, Fin, or d'Hiver, Francreal d'Hiver. The tree is very 
productive ; it succeeds well on the quince ; fruit globular ; colour yellowish 
green, but brownish red next the sun, and a little russetty ; gcodtocook 
from October to midwinter. 

28 



302 PEAR* 

46. Beurre Diel. DieVs Butterbirne, Dorothee Royale, Beurre de 
Gelle, Beurre Royale, Poire de Melon. This ranks amongst the best of 
pears. The tree is of vigorous growth 5 fruit when in perfection, four 
inches long, and three inches broad ; the skin at maturity is bright orange, 
with reddish russet; flesh clear white, tender, melting, and juicy, and of a 
delicious aromatic flavour ; from November to January. 

47. Beurre Rance, Beurre Epine, Hardenpont de Printemps. This 
is said to be a first-rate pear. The tree is vigorous and a good bearer ; fruit 
middle sized, oblong ; skin deep green ; flesh green, melting, having a deli- 
cious rich flavour, with very little acid. It shrivels in ripening, but will 
keep till April. 

48. Gloria, Colmar d" Hirer. A name implying every thing that is 
excellent. A melting pair of superior quality ; shape varying from nearly 
globular to pear-shaped; colour yellowish green ; flesh firm, juicy, and of 
excellent flavour ; at perfection in January and February. 

49. Holland Burgamot, Burgamolte ^Holland D'Alencon. Fruit 
very large, globular? but broadest at the crown, flattened ; of greenish yel- 
low colour ; flesh half breaking, juicy, and high flavoured ; it keeps till May, 
and succeeds on the quince. 

50. Saint Germain, Inconnue la Fare. This celebrated ancient fruit 
is large, of a green colour, covered with russet spots ; at maturity a yellow- 
ish cast; its flesh very melting, juicy, saccharine, slightly acid, and deli- 
cious ; it ripens in November, and may be kept till March. 

51. Monarch. A new pear, considered by Mr. Knight as without a 
rival. The tree is represented of rapid growth, and an abundant bearer j 
fruit large, of an extraordinary musky flavour, and deemed excellent for 
perry. Season in England, December and January. 

52. Colmar, Poire Mannc, Bergamotte Tardive, Incomparable. This 
fruit is rather large ; skin smooth, of a green colour, changing to a yellow at 
maturity ; form pyramidal ; flesh melting, juicy, saccharine, and of excellent 
flavour; the fruit is in perfection from November to February. 

53. Easter Buerre, Bergamotte de la Penlccote, Beurre d'Hiver de 
Bruxelles, Doyenne d'Hiver, de Bruxelles, Bczi Chaumontelle Tres 
Gros. Of all the late keeping pears, this is considered the best, (for Eng- 
land.) Fruit large roundish, oblong ; colour green, but yellow at maturity, 
■with specks of russet brown ; flesh yellowish white, perfectly buttery and 
melting, and extremely high flavoured ; it is eatable in November, and will 
keep till May ; it is a most profuse bearer, on a quince stock. 

54. Passe Colmar, Fondante de Panisel, Passe Colmar Gris dit 
Precel, Poire Precel, Passe Colmar Epineux, Beurre Cclmar Gris dit 
Precel, Buerre d'Argenson, Chapmans . A most valuable pear, of me- 
dium size, conical, flattened next the eye; skin at maturity yellowish, 
sprinkled with russet-, a tinge of red next the sun ; flesh yellowish, melting, 
juicy, rich and excellent. The tree is a good bearer, and the fruit *s in 
perfection from November to February. 

55- Flemish Bon Chretien, Bon Chretien Nouvelle Espece. Fruit 
large, oblong, turbinate ; skin at maturity yellow, mottled with russet next 



pear. 303 

the sun; flesh yellowish white, breaking, a little gritty, but mellow at 
maturity; juice saccharine, with a slight musky perfume; season from 
November till February. 

Geot Morceatj, Gloux Morceaux. A very large Belgic variety- of 
great excellence ; fruit of ovalish form, pale green colour, inclinisg to yel- 
lowj with russetty specks and blotches ; flesh whitish, firm, very juicy and 
excellent ; in perfection from November to March. 

57. Poire de Anana, Poire d> Ananas. A new Flemish variety, held 
in high esteem ; a winter fruit, of medium size, very handsome, melting, 
with a fine pine apple flavour, (hence its name Ananas ;) ripening in No- 
vember, and good till March. The tree is of dwarfish habits, and flowering 
freelyj and at the extremity of the branches. 

58. Winter Bonchretien, Bonchretien d'Hiver, Poire d'Angoise. 
Very large, colour at maturity yellow, with a slight stain of red next the 
sun ; form truncated, or pyramidal ; flesh breaking, rather sweet and juicy. 
This variety, though enormously large, is very liable to crack, but is some- 
times preserved sound till May. 

59. Chaumontel, Bezy de Chaumontelle, Beurre d'Hiver, This 
noble old variety is a fruit varying in size, from large to very large ; its 
colour at maturity yellow, tinged with red next the sun ; its form variable ; 
flesh melting, juicy, sweet, musky, excellent; season from JNovember tp 
February. 

60. Cardinale, Poire d'Amiral, Admiral. The tree is of medium 
vigour; its young wood of medium size, and of a red colour ; a superb oblong 
pear, of a pyramidal form ; yellow in the shade, but beautiful red next the 
sun; flesh white, half melting, coarse grained, but very juicy, sweet and 
agreeable ; it keeps till March, and merits to be better known. 

61. Governor Stuyvesant. This pear took its name from its having 
been first cultivated at Stuyvesant T s farm on New-York Island, The 
original tree is now upwards of 200 years old, and produces fruit of a medi- 
um size, of a greenish yellow colour, juicy, sweet, aromatic and excellent. 

62. Bare and. This variety took its name from the original tree, grow- 
ing in a field called Bare Lands, in Herefordshire, England. Tha fruit is 
smallish, of ovate form; skin dull green, russetted with gray. It is deemed 
excellent for perry. Specific gravity of its juice 1070. 

63. Holmore. Fruit small, globular ; skin of a dingy yellowish green, 
tmged with red. Excellent perry is made of this variety in Herefordshire, 
England. Specific gravity of its juice 1066. 

64. Buffcap. There are several varieties of pears bear this name, but 
the best perry is made of the true Herefordshire Huffcap. The fruit is 
middle sized, of pale green colour, marked with gray russet. Specific gra- 
vity of its juice 1070. 

65. Oldfield. Fruit below the middle size, of pale green colour, with- 
russetty spots. An excellent perry fruit. Specific gravity of its juice 1067. 

66. JLongland. Fruit very handsome, much like the swan's egg in 
shape ; skin bright gold colour, tinged and mottled with a russetty lively 
orange; specific gravity of its juice 1063. The tree is handsome and 
upright, and much cultivated in Herefordshire for perry. 



304 PLUM. 

67. Teinton Squash. Fruit middle sized, of angular shape ; skin a 
muddy russetty green, marbled with dull orange, interspersed with ash- 
coloured specks. It originated in Teinton, Gloucestershire, and the perry 
made from this fruit is of the very highest quality, something approaching 
in colour and briskness io champagne, for which fine samples of it have 
sometimes been sold. 

PLUMS. 

1. Precoce de Tours, Early Tours. Tbe'tree is vigorous and fertile ; 
fruit small, oval, dark purple, covered with fine bloom; flesh greenish yel- 
low, tender, juicy, and of very agreeable flavour ; one of the best early 
varieties, and very productive ; ripe at the end of July. 

2. Great Damask Violet of Tours, Gros Damas de Tours. This 
plum is of a dark purple colour, covered with bloom ; the flesh is whitish, 
firm, sweet, pretty rich, and of a very pleasant flavour ; it ripens towards the 
end of July, and is in perfection early in August. 

3.* Morocco, Early Black Damask, Black Damascus, Black Morocco, 
Early Damask, Early Morocco. This is considered as one of the best of 
early plums. The tree is very hardy and productive ; fruit middle sized, 
roundish ; skin deep blackish purple, covered with a light blue bloom ; flesh 
greenish yellow, juicy, rich, and high flavoured ; ripe early in August. 

4. Nectarine Plum, Caledonian, Howell's Large, Prune Peche.— 
One of the most beautiful plums known ; large, nearly round ; the skin at 
maturity varies from red to crimson, covered with azure bloom , flesh yellow- 
ish, coarse grained, astringent ; juice abundant, and of mild, pleasant 
flavour; at maturity early in August. 

5 Jaune Hative, Prune de Catalonge, Prune de St. Barnabc, Cata- 
lonian, White Primordian, Amber Primordian. Fruit sma]l, round, and 
of a yellow colour ; ripens the end of July ; flesh mealy; tree a great bearer ; 
and the fruit chiefly esteemed fur its precocity. 

6. Blue PeRDigron, Perdigron Violet. This plum may be ranked 
among the choice varieties ; its form is nearly round, of medium size, and of 
purple colour; its flesh is greenish, partially melting, and moderately sweet 
and rich ; it ripens at about the middle of August. 

7. Early Orleans, Hampton Court. Fruit of largish size and oval 
form ; of a red colour ; ripening about the middle of August ; the flesh is 
of rich juicy flavour, and the tree a great bearer. 

8. Wilmot's New Early Orleans, WilmoVs Orleans. This plum 
is of medium size and round form; its sature deep ; of a dark purplish hue, 
covered with a fine bloom ; the flesh is greenish yellow, of excellent flavour, 
sweet, combined with a pleasant acid. It is a handsome plum, ripening 
early in August. 

9. New-York Purple, Bretocrt 's Purple Bolmer, An excellent fruit, 
raised from a seed of the Washington Plum, that had been imgregnated 
with the pollen of the Blue Gage. The fruit is very large, of a rich and 
brisk flavour > the flesh adheres to the stone ; ripe about the middle of 
August. 



plum. 305 

10. Blue Gage, Azure Hative. This fruit is of medium size, and of a 
roundish, oval shape ; skin violet, powdered with a light blue bloom, with 
pale yellow dots ; flesh greenish amber, rich, sugary, and high flavoured . 
ripe in August. 

11. Chester, Matchless, This plum is of oval form, and of a dark blue 
colour, with a partial violet bloom ; the flesh is dark yellow, rich, and full 
of sweet and pleasant juice; the fruit ripens in August, and the tree pro- 
duces abundantly. 

12. Fotheringham, Sheer Plum. This fruit is of large size, the form 
oblong, with a deep sature ; the skin is of a deep red colour; the flesh is 
white, firm and crisp, rich, juicy, and of fine flavour ; at perfection in 
August. 

13. Royal de Tours, The tree is of extraordinary vigorous growth ; 
its principal stem rises vertically ; the fruit is globular, of red violet colour, 
covered with azure bloom; flesh yellow, fine, good; juice abundant and 
sweet ; ripens in August. 

16. Maitre Claude. This fruit is of large size and round form ; skin 
of a bright yellow colour, with dark red spots, and is covered with a thin 
white bloom ; the flesh .s pale yellow, and firm, with sweet aud sprightly 
juice; ripens in August. 

15. Washington, New Washington, Bolmer's Washington, Franklin, 
Imperial Gage, Superior Gage. A very large, globular plum, inclining 
to oval ; greenish yellow next the sun, with crimson specks, covered with 
a rich bloom. T hi * plum has sometimes weighed over four ounces ; its 
flesh is yellow and firm, sweet and delicious, but not considered equal in 
flavour to the Green Gage ; ripe in August. 

16. Greek Gage, Great Queen Claudia, Dauphine, Grosse Heine 
Claude, Abricot Vert, Verte Bonne, Large Green Claudia, Gros Dam as 
Vert. A middle sized round fruit, of a yellowish green colour, and purplish 
russetty red next the sun ; the flesh is of a greenish hue, melting, with 
abundance ot very sweet and highly perfumed juice, of an exquisite taste ; 
it arrives at maturity towards the end of August. 

17. Lucombe's Nonsuch. This plum is large, compressed at the sum- 
mit and base, its breadth is two inches ; its colour at maturity, as well as its 
form, resemble the Queen Gage, but more streaked with yellow ; flesh 
firm, rich and juicy ; at maturity by the end of August ; tree a good bearer. 

18. Italian Damask, Damas d'ltalie. This fruit is rather large, its 
form globular, a little flattened at the base ; blue or violet next the sun, and 
covered with a purple bloom ; its flesh is yellow, rich and juicy, and the tree, 
which matures its fruit by the end of August) is very productive. 

19. Bleecker's Gage. This plum is stated to have been raised by the 
Rev. Mr. Bleecker, of Albany,, from the stone of a German Prune \, it is 
described as a large, globular fruit, of excellent quality, and' a great, bearer. 

20. Cooper's Large Red, Cooper's Large American, This plum is of 
extraordinary size, measuring within an eighth of two inches in each di- 
rection : the skin is of a fine dark purple colour > the flesh is yellowish 

26* 



306 PLUM. 

green, rich, juicy, and of pleasant flavour ; the fruit makes excellent pre- 
serves, if gathered in August ; its great defect is an inclination to rot. 

21. Kirke's Plum. This variety is said to be as hardy and prolific as 
the Orleans, as handsome as the Damask, and as good as the Green Gage. 
Fruit large, roundish, oval s skin covered with a close, firm, azure bloom, 
through which appears a few golden specks ; flesh greenish yellow, firm, 
juicy and rich ; in perfection the early part of September. 

22. Red Diaper, Diapree Rouge, Roche Carbon. One of the most 
beautiful plums known ; form oval, two inches and one-third in length, a 
little pear-shaped ; colour bright red, with a partial degree of bloom, and 
speckled with dots of deeper red ; flesh greenish yellow, soft and sweet, but 
coarse ; its quality does not correspond with its appearance, but they make 
excellent prunes, if gathered early in September. 

23. Goliath, Goliah, St. Cloud. This fruit is very large, sometimes 
weighing four ounces ; the skin is a deep reddish purple ; the flesh pale, 
firm, and well flavoured, but not rich ; the tree is a great bearer, and the 
fruit much used for cooking ; ripe in September. 

24. Imperial Diadem. A large fruit, admirably adapted for culinary 
purposes ; shape oval ; colour pale red, but dark when mature, which is 
about the middle of September ; it is of good flavour, and highly perfumed. 

25. Jerusalem. The tree is vigorous and productive; fruit beautiful ; 
its form oval ; skin thick, blue next the sun, covered with an elegant bloom ; 
flesh yellowish, coarse-grained, but melting ; juice abundant, high flavoured 
and sweet ; a large, handsome fruit, ripe early in September. 

26. Diamond Plum. Some consider this as the largest plum known; 
its colour is a dark purple ; in form it resembles the Magnum Bonum, bat 
its flavour is considered rather superior ; the tree, which grows vigorously, 
originated with Mr. Hooker, Kent, England. 

27. Red GLueen Mother. This plum is large, its colour bright red 
covered with pale bloom} its flesh is yellow, sweet and excellent, ripening 
in September. 

28. La Royale, Royale. A large and excellent plum, of a homely dull 
red colour, but concealed by a thick v:olet or azure bloom ; flesh fine, yellow- 
ish green, firm, juicy, high flavoured and delicious; a superior plum, at 
maturity in September. 

29. Mimms, Mimm's Plum. The fruit is very large, a little oblong ; 
colour bright purple, covered with thick bloom; its flesh is yellowish green, 
tender, juicy, and very agreeably flavoured : ripe in September. 

30. Surpasse Monsieure. A large fruit, of oval form, and of a dark 
red purplish colour, raised by a Mr. Noisette ; it is said to be more beautiful 
and perfumed than the Monsieur, and the tree yields suckers which pro- 
duce fruit in all their beauty and excellence. 

31. Purple Gage, Reine Claude Violate, Die Violette, Konigen 
Claudie. This fruit is large, almost round, and considered in France as 
one of the finest varieties ; its skin is of violet purple colour, with pale yellow 
dots, and covered with a light blue bloom ; flesh greenish amber, rich, sac- 
charine and high flavoured ; at maturity in September. 



plum. 307 

32. Virginale. This fruit ranks among the best of plums: its shape is 
round, colour yellowish, touched with violet or rose, and covered with dense 
bloom ; flesh melting, juice abundant, and very agreeable. 

33. Red Magnum Bonum, Imperial Violette, of the French. A large, 
oval plum, of deep red colour, covered with blue bloom ; flesh yellowish, 
harsh and acid ; consequently good for cooking, preserves, &c. Fit for use 
in September. 

34. Red Perdrigon, Perdrigon Rouge. An excellent plum, of the 
first class, of medium size, oval shape, and fine red colour, with gold colored 
dots and a fine bloom ; flesh bright yellow, transparent ; juice sweet and 
delicious. Peeled and dried in September, it makes excellent prunes. 

35. Winesour, Rolherham, of the old gardens. This plum is excellent 
for sweetmeats ; it is of smallish size, oblong form, and of dark purple colour ; 
the flesh is yellow, juicy, and of a pleasant acid flavour; the fruit is fit for 
use by the end of September ; the tree is a great bearer, and will grow on 
any soil, but flourishes most on limestone or gravel. 

36. Apricot Plum, Prune Abricote, Abricottee de Tours. The fruit 
is large, its form globular, depressed, divided by a deep sature ; whitish 
yellow, but faint red next the sun, and covered with bloom ; its flesh is firm, 
juicy, sweet, musky and excellent j it ripens in September. 

37. Coe's Golden Drop, Coe's Imperial, Bury Seedling, New Golden 
Drop, Fair's Golden Drop. Raised by Mr. Coe, of Bury, Norfolk, Eng- 
land. The tree is vigorous, fruit of medium size ; skin greenish yellow, 
spotted with violet and crimson ; flesh gold colour, rich and excellent; the 
fruit ripens at the end of September, and will keep several weeks. A first 
rate fruit. 

38. Prince's Imperial Gage, Prince's White Gage. This tree was 
originated at the Flushing nursery, from a seed of the Green Gage. The 
fruit is one of the largest of its class ; the skin at maturity is yellow, dotted 
with red; the flesh is rich, luscious and of excellent flavour, and makes fine 
preserves, if gathered towards the end of August ; at maturity in September. 

39. Saint Catharine. A medium sized, oblong fruit; skin bright 
gold colour, spotted with red at maturity, and covered with bloom ; flesh, 
yellow, tender, sweet, and fine flavour; ripens in September. 

40. Late White Damson, White Damascene, White Winter Damson^ 
Frost Plum. This variety is very productive, the fruit hanging in nu- 
merous clusters along the branches. The fruit is oval, of a greenish white 
colour, marked with brown spots ; the flesh is juicy, and of pleasant flavour ; 
it ripens in September, and continues on the tree several weeks. 

41. White Magnum Bonum, Imperiale Blanche, Egg Plum, White 
Mogul, White Holland. This fruit is of extraordinary size, oval, yellow, 
covered with pale bloom ; the flesh yellow, firm, acid and austere ; excellent 
for cooking and preservesj in September. 

42. White Perdrigon, Perdrigon Blanc. A middle sized, oblong 
fruit, of a paleyellow, with red spots, and covered with white bloom ; flesh 
yellow, rich, saccharine and juicy ; it ripens in September. 

•43. Impkbatrice. One of the best of latejplums ; fruit medium size* oval ; 



398 plum. 

skin fine violet, covered with bloom ; flesh yellowish next the sun, a little 
firm, and very sweet, rich and juicy at maturity) which is from October to 
December. 

44. Prune Suisse, Semiana, Prune d'Altessc, Monsieur Tardif. — 
Fruit very handsome, round, flattened ; colour varying from bright violet 
red to deep blackish blue, and covered with azure bloom ; flesh greenish 
yellow, crackling and melting ; juice very abundant and delicious ; an ex- 
cellent fruit, ripening in September and October. 

45. Downton Imperatrice. A superior late plum, of medium size; 
skin dark yellow, and very thin; the flesh yellow, soft, juicy» with a high 
flavoured acidity ; at perfection in October. 

46. Late Black Damson, Damas Noir, Damas Xoir Tardif. A 
excellent fruit, of dark purple colour, almost black, and covered with bloom ; 
the flesh is rather firm, yellowish green, sweet, and slightly perfumed when 
at maturity. 

47. Late Purple Damson. Purple Winter Damson, Blue Damascene, 
Blue Damson. This variety is in great esteem for preserves, and gene- 
rally commands a high price. It is of a dark purple colour, covered with 
bloom ; the flesh has rather too much acidity for a table fruit, but this tart- 
ness gives it an agreeable flavour when cooked. 

48. Shropshire Damson, Damson Plum. This is a large vrriety of 
the damson, of fine quality and rich flavour, most excellent for preserves 
It ripens in October and November, and the tree produces abundantly. 

49. Huling's Superb, Keyser's Plum. This plum is of monstrous 
size, anil has been known to weigh nearly four ounces; it is of roundish 
form, and a greenish yellow coiouv; the flesh is sweet and excellent. It 
was raised from seed by Mr. Keyset of Pennsylvania, and brought into 
notice by Dr. Wm. Hulings, of that State. 

40. Late Chalons, Tardif de Chalons. . This fruit is nearly oval, 
of a whitish yellow hue, tinged witq red, and covered with bloom , the 
flesh is yellowish, melting and very juicy, ripe In October. 

51. Horse Plum. Fruit of medium size, oval, vrith a deepsature in the 
middle ; skin dark red. inclining to purple when ripe ; flesh greenish yellow; 
juice acid, but agreeable. Quantities of these plums are sold in the New- 
York Markets, for sweetmeats. The trees are generally raised from 
suckers, and Peaches, Apricots, and Nectarines, will bud and thrive well on 
such stock?. 

52. Chickasaw Plum. A native species from "Virginia to Carolina." 
Fruit sound ; some varieties are red, and some yellow, about the size of 
Cherries . The growth of the tree is different from any other kind of plum, 
and at a little distance looks somewhat like a Peach tree. It is very orna- 
mental ; and Mr. Floy says it would make a fine stock to bud Peaches, 
Nectarines, or Almonds on, in the Southern States. 

In conclusion, it may be necessary to remind the reader, that, as the 
preceding description of fruits is only intended as a continuation of the 
article " On the Choice of Fruit Trees in the Nursery," brevity was essen- 



PLUM. 309 

tially requisite. It is presumed, however, that the explanation given will he 
found sufficient to direct the public attention to the most esteemed sorts of 
fruit. Those who may wish for more extensive information on this part of 
our subject, are referred to the works already alluded to, also to a work 
entitled " A Guide to the Orchard and Fruit Garden ; or, an Account of 
the most valuable Fruits cultivated in Great Britain, by George Lindley, 
C.M-Q.S., edited by John Lindley, F.R.S., &c. First American, from 
the last London edition, containing notes, explanatory and practical, with 
numerous additions on the propagation, culture, pruning and tiainingof 
Standards, Open Dwarf, and Espalier Fruit Trees, adapted to the climate 
of the United State?, with additions of the most valuable American Fruits, 
and other matters, useful to the American Horticulturist, by Michael Floy, 
Gardener and Nurseryman, New-York, and C.M.H.S., of London.-' 



MONTHLY CALENDAR. 



The object of this Calendar is to furnish In a condensed 
form, monthly directions for the culture of some plants not 
% previously mentioned in this work ; and also to direct the 
reader's attention to the regular management of such 
plants as have been heretofore treated of. In pursuit of 
the latter object, references will be made to former pages, so 
as to exhibit, at one view, the business of the Garden in each 
month of the year. The figures refer to the pages in which 
further directions may be found relative to the operations 
adverted to. 

JANUARY. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

It is customary at this season of the year, with all prudent 
men, to look around them, and endeavour to ascertain the 
results of their industry throughout the past year, in order to 
make improved arrangements for the future. The mere 
gardener, having no complicated accounts to adjust, may 
occupy his time to valuable purposes. If he be not a book- 
reader, he should be a book-keeper, (see page 8,) and he 
should frequently take a survey of his former practices and 
those of his acquaintances, with a view to improve on every 
thing he has done, or seen done. If he consult writers on 
Horticulture, he should do as the author has endeavoured 
to do in preparing this little work for the press ; not adopt 
the mere theory of a subject, nor indulge in speculative 
ideas, nor even tread in the steps of others, but endeavour to 
erect his edifice of knowledge upon a good settled foundation. 
In all his pursuits, whether he attempts to follow the example 



312 MONTHLY CALENDAR. 

of practical and exemplary men, hear lectures, or consult 
any authors on the subject, he should do as every sensible 
man does at his daily meals, take that which suits him best, 
and leave the residue for others. If this little work should 
be considered worth an annual perusal, he may read the 
general remarks in this month, (January,) and make a 
memorandum of such things as may be obtained at a leisure 
time, in preference to driving it off till it is wanted. I shall 
endeavour to make my Calendar serve as an index to the 
book, and in pursuit of my object, shall begin at page 1 of 
the general remarks, which suggests, that if a man has a 
garden to form, he will require fencing materials. If these 
should be already at hand, every gardener should provide 
manures, ingredients for the destruction of insects, drilling 
machines, and other tools ; poles or rods for the support of 
such Beans, Peas, or other climbing plants, as he may 
intend to cultivate ; and if he intend to use hot-beds, or 
forcing frames, he should make arrangements to get compost 
and heating materials, in time for the work to be performed 
in the next month. If he depend on this book for informa- 
tion, he may read the general remarks from page 7 to 17, 
and also page 94, on Forcing Vegetables. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

Having shown in page 196, that heat, air, and water, are 
the food of plants, and necessary to the preservation of 
their health and life, if given in due proportions according 
to circumstances, I would, at this season of the year, 
especially, salute the gardener with a " be ye temperate in 
all things.'' 

Temperance, in the use of water, is of the utmost impor- 
tance in the winter season, for several reasons which may 
be given. In the first place, water will attract frost, and, 
therefore, should be used very sparingly in frosty weather ; 
another consideration is, that in the absence of heat and 
air, plants cannot absorb much moisture, and consequently 
must become injured from excessive watering ; and it may 
be observed further, that it is not prudent to keep plants in 



January. ,] monthly calendar. 313 

an extremely vigorous state, until the season arrives when 
the external air is soft and salubrious ; they can then have 
a due proportion of heat, air, and moisture at the same time. 

Perhaps the next important point to be attended to at 
this time is, to see that the greenhouse, or room, in which 
plants are intended to be preserved, is calculated for the 
purpose. The room should be light and airy, and yet so 
secure as to prevent the intrusion of external cold air, or the 
departure of warm air in the night season. 

A Fahrenheit thermometer is indispensable in a green- 
house, or room, where plants are kept, and the temperature 
should be always up as nearly as possible to 40 degrees, in 
the absence of the sun. If the gardener retire to rest in this 
variable climate, leaving the mercury much below 40, he 
may expect to find his plants frozen in the morning. 

At this season of the year especially, sitting-rooms, or 
parlours, are heated in the daytime to full 20 degrees 
higher than what is necessary for the preservation of plants ; 
consequently, as the heat decreases in the night season, 
plants often get injured, unless a fire is kept up. Air must 
be admitted to plants kept in this way, at all opportunities ; 
and more water will be necessary for such plants, than 
those kept in a greenhouse would require. For the 
management of bulbous roots, in pots or glasses, the reader 
is referred to page 191. 

For the benefit of such as may wish to raise early plants 
from seed, or to force Dahlia or other roots, I subjoin the 
following brief directions for making a small hot-bed : In a 
border exposed to the morning sun, let a pit be dug about 
thirty inches deep, five feet wide, and six long ; this will 
admit of two sashes, each three feet by five. A frame of 
suitable dimensions may be made of plank ; the back plank 
may be two feet wide, and the end ones sloped so as to 
make a fifteen-inch plank do for the front. The frame 
being made, set it over the pit, and then get a load of horse 
dung, fresh from the livery stables, (not such as has lain 
long, or may have been soddened with water,) spread the 
dung evenly in the pit until full, then put into the frame 

27 



314 monthly calendar. [January. 

light rich mould, or compost, to the depth of ten or twelve 
inches, and the seed may be sown as soon as it gets warm. 
It may be necessary to observe, that in making hot-beds, 
the quantity of top mould should be regulated according to 
the substance of manure in the pit, and this may vary 
according to the use the beds are intended for, or to other 
circumstances. After the seeds are sown, the beds will 
require constant attention ; cover up warm in cold nights, 
and give air at all opportunities, to prevent the plants from 
growing weak. 

As we are subject to north-west winds at this season, 
which produce extreme freezing, it will be better to delay 
the making of hot-beds to the last week in February, or 
early in March, at which time opportunities will frequently 
offer of giving plants a tolerable share of salubrious air, 
which is indispensable to their preservation. 

FEBRUARY. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

Although stern Winter with its ice-bound chains, exerts 
its influence over the soil, the gardener may find employment 
preparatory to commencing his operations of ploughing and 
planting, as the year progresses. Perhaps the most impor- 
tant business at this season, is to collect plenty of manure ; 
next to this, the gardener who intends to raise early plants 
for forcing or otherwise, should see that his hot-bed frames 
are in good repair, and ready for use ; he should also repair 
his sashes, and make straw mats to cover them with. In 
preparing dung or other heating materials for hot-beds, or 
forcing pits, let it be kept secure from heavy falls of snow or 
rain, and frequently turned over preparatory to its being 
made into a bed. 

Previous to making hot-beds, select a situation that is 
well protected by a close fence or wall, and not in any way 
connected with any building calculated to harbour rats, 
mice, moles, <fcc. which are very apt to take up their abode 
in warm dung, to the great injury and sometimes the de- 



February. 1 monthly calendar. 315 

struction of the beds. It is necessary that the foundation 
for the beds be drily situated, and not liable to be inundated 
with water from melted snow, &>c. When all is prepared as 
directed, page 92 to 96, begin to sow Cabbage, Egg-plant, 
Lettuce, and Tomato seed, 92 ; force Asparagus, 97; Kidney 
Beans, 99; Cucumbers, 100; plant Peas, 110; Potatoes, 
111 ; sow Radish seed, 112. In cold beds well protected, 
plant Broad Beans 25 and 98 ; sow Cabbage seed, 38. 

After the seeds are sown, the beds will require constant 
attention ; cover up well in cold nights, and give air at all 
opportunities, taking care to regulate the heat in the beds, 
as directed under the different heads, from page 92 to 116. 
If the heat be excessive, it must be decreased as directed, 
page 98, and if it should become necessary to let oft* steam 
in cold weather, care must be taken to cover the apertures 
sufficiently to keep out frosted air. Give air at all oppor- 
tunities to Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lettuce, and such other 
plants as may be in frames, of last year's sowing* \ 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

Having in the previous month discussed some important 
points relative'to the general care of plants, I now proceed 
to notice a few of those kinds that require attention at this 
particular season : 

Camellias, or Japan Roses. — There are numerous va- 
rieties of this valuable class of plants, exhibiting every 
shade in succession, from deep crimson to the purest white ; 
in some imperceptibly blended, in others strikingly con- 
trasted. They are unrivalled objects of beauty from 
October to May, being set in a foliage of fine glossy verdure. 

Double Camellias are generally propagated on stocks of 
the single, which are procured by planting cuttings of the 
young shoots in light mould under bell glasses ; on these, 
when grown to a sufficient size, are inarched the finer kinds 
of double. Sometimes these latter are also struck by cut- 
tings ; but as their progress by such method is generally 
slow and uncertain, it is seldom resorted to. These valu. 
able plants are too often injured by amateurs, from misap- 



316 monthly calendar. {February. 

plied care bestowed upon them, so that their whole 
compensation and enjoyment is reduced to the mere 
possession of a handsome green shrub. Destined from the 
extreme beauty and unrivalled delicacy of their flowers to 
become the chief pride and ornament of the greenhouse and 
drawing-room in the winter season, the Camellias should 
have a fair chance given them to exhibit their fine bloom in 
perfection. 

It should be observed, that Camellias are by no means 
tender shrubs, but require to be kept in a medium even 
temperature, and they generally succeed best in a green- 
house, where the atmosphere is damp. As the buds begin 
to swell, they will require more water than at any other 
time, which may be applied from the rose of a watering pot, 
or syringe, while in bud, but when in blossom it should be 
applied to the earth. 

If Camellias be kept where there is a dry air, occasioned 
from fire heat, they must have plenty of the natural air at 
all opportunities, or the buds will become brown and fall 
off; and if they are subjected to extreme cold at night, 
which is too frequently the case, when kept in rooms of an 
uneven temperature, premature decay of the buds will 
inevitably be the consequence. 

To preserve Camellias in healthy condition, they should 
be kept in fresh, moderately light soil, consisting of sandy 
loam taken from under grass sods, and leaf mould well 
mixed ; nothing being more injurious to them than over- 
potting; they should not be shifted into larger pots, until the 
projection of the roots show evidently that they are in need 
of it. Few plants bear privation of sunshine in summer 
better than these ; they should, however, be kept in an 
open situation, where they can have a full share of light 
and air. 

Such bulbous roots as may be in progress of blooming, 
will require attention this month ; turn them frequently to 
the light, as recommended in page 191, and increase the 
supplies of water as they advance towards perfection. 

Attend to Campanula Pyramidalis, Hepeticas, Mimu- 
\us y Senecios, and herbaceous plants in general j those 



February. 1 monthly calendar. 317 

not in bud should be watered very sparingly. Shrubby 
plants, especially those which bud and blossom in the win- 
ter, and early part of the spring, as the several varieties of 
Acacias, Azelias, Calceolarias, Correas, Coronillas, Daph- 
nes, Diosmas, Eupatoriums, Eutaxias, Fuchsias, Gnidias, 
Heaths, Laurustinuses, Lemon trees, Rhododendrons, 
Orange trees, &c, will require water once or twice a week, 
according to circumstances, and air should be given at all 
opportunities, or the plants will not blossom in perfection. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

With a view to give all attention to culture as the season 
advances, the gardener should look over his hardy fruit 
trees, and hardy vines, and commence pruning them, by 
cutting off all dead and superfluous branches ; he may also 
clean trees from moss and canker, and search for the nests 
of insects with a view to destroy them while in a torpid 
state, to prevent their spreading. If he has trellises, or any 
implements of husbandry out of repair, he should embrace 
the raost favourable opportunities of putting them in good 
condition, and repairing the fences, &c. 

The latter end of this month is a good time to prune 
grape vines. 

Provide shreds or strips of woollen cloth about half an 
inch wide, or list from broad cloth, which is still better, also 
small sharp pointed ]ath nails for use in training fruit trees, 
<fcc. next month. 

MARCH. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

This month affords considerable employment to any 
industrious gardener. Manure may be drawn on the ground, 
and distributed in heaps, ready to spread, see page 16 ; 
and the hot-beds and forcing frames will require constant 
attention. Cover up warm in cold nights, and give addi- 
tional air as the season progresses, to prevent the plants 
growing weak, taking care to regulate the heat as directed 
for the different kinds of vegetables. If any additional 
frames are to be put down this month, either for forcing or 

27* 



318 monthly calendar. [March. 

forwarding vegetables, they should be attended to in time, 
as directed. 

Begin the work of the Kitchen garden as soon as the 
earth can be brought into good condition, and transplant 
hardy Lettuce plants, 55 ; dress Artichoke beds, 20 ; Aspa- 
ragus, 23 ; Rhubarb, 71 ; Sea-Kale, 75 ; and prepare to 
make new plantations of these vegetables. Plant Broad 
Beans, 25 and 98; Beet Seed, 30; plant Cauliflower 
plants under hand glasses, 36 and 100; sow Cabbage seed, 
38 and 92 ; Carrot, 42 ; Celery, 43 ; plant Chives, 40 ; 
Cucumber, 100 ; sow Egg-plant seed, 49 ; Garden Burnet, 
51; Leek, 54 ; Lettuce 55 ; plant Melon seed, 109; sow 
Onion, 59 ; Parsley, 61 ; Parsnip, 62 ; Pepper, 63 ; plant 
Peas, 64 ; Potatoes, 111 ; sow Radish seed, 69 and 112 ; 
plant Rocambole, 70 ; Rhubarb, 70 ; Salsify, 72 ; Scor- 
zonera, 73 ; Sea-Kale, 74 ; Skirret, 77 ; sow Spinach 
seed, 79 ; Tomatoe, 81 and 114 ; Turnip seed, 84 ; prepare 
to make Hop plantations, 117; Horse-Radish, 52; Herbs, 
88 and 89. Plant esculents for seed, beginning with the 
hardiest kinds ; raise up and plant Cabbage stumps, &c, 
to produce greens early for the table. In the course of 
this month every thing should be forwarded relative to the 
cultivation and preparation of the ground, by levelling such 
as may have lain in ridges through the winter, and by 
manuring and digging the soil generally, preparatory to 
sowiug and planting it early the next month. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

As the spring progresses, the external air will be soft 
and salubrious ; at which time it should be freely admitted 
to plants kept in rooms and greenhouses. In proportion 
as the plants get air, they should have water applied from 
the rose of a watering-pot. 

Monthly Roses will require attention this month. It 
should be recollected, that it is from the young wood of 
these plants, that buds are to be expected ; their growth 
should, therefore, be encouraged, by admitting sun and air 
at all opportunities, and water when necessary. 



March."] monthly calendar. 319 

Primulas. — There are several species of plants under 
this name, which exhibit their blossoms in March and April ; 
some of which are very beautiful as the Polyanthus, 
English Spring Flowers, Auricula, Sec. ; but I would now 
direct the reader's attention to the Chinese varieties, some 
of which a e pure white, and others of a lilac colour. They 
are first raised from seed sown in the spring, and will keep 
two or three years. 

Plants that are full grown, will commence blooming in 
December, and continue to produce umbels of flowers for 
five or six months, if well attended to ; they are generally 
in their prime this month, at which time a little water should 
be applied to the earth about twice a week. 

Many species and varieties of seeds may be sown this 
month in hot-beds, prepared as directed under the head 
January. 

Auricula, Polyanthus, and all other species of Primula 
seed, should now be sown. Mignonette, Ten Week Stock, 
and Dahlia seed, from choice varieties, may also be sown 
in pots, and care should be taken when the plants are up, 
that they be not injured by excess of moisture. 

There are some splendid varieties of the Schizanthus 
which deserve attention at an early season. They are 
rather difficult of cultivation in pots, being apt to suffer by 
excess of heat or moisture ; and often, when in full bloom, 
die off suddenly by decays at the base of the stem. No 
plants will, however, more amply repay all the care and 
trouble that may be bestowed on them, than those of the 
elegant genus Schizanthus. The best soil for them is loam, 
and leaf mould, with a small portion of sand. They 
should be repotted as often as the pots are filled with roots, 
till they come into full flower. 

All the different varieties of tender annual, biennial, and 
perennial flower seeds, designated thus § and thus f in our 
catalogues, pages 123 and 131, may be sown this month in 
hot-beds, or in pots kept in the greenhouse. 

Hyacinths, Narcissus, and other bulbs in glasses, must 
have the water shifted every week, and the glasses should 
be thoroughly washed every two or three weeks, 192. 



320 monthly calendar. [March. 

Towards the end of the month, roots of Amaryllis for- 
??wsissima, Gladiolus psitticinna, Tiger flowers, Tuberoses, 
and such other bulbs as may have been preserved dry 
through the winter, may now be planted in pots and kept 
in a greenhouse or light room, or else plunged in a hot-bed. 

Those who have no such conveniences may, however, 
delay the planting of sound bulbs, until the weather will 
admit of their being planted in warm borders. 

Dahlia roots should now be plunged in a hot-bed, to 
forward them, with a view to their being separated, as soon 
as the eyes are discernible. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

If the weather be mild this month, considerable work 
may be done in the fruit garden and orchard, before the 
ground can be brought into suitable condition for plough- 
ing, digging or planting. 

Prune Grape Vines ; but withhold the knife, until you 
have surveyed the plant, and selected a full supply of the 
last summer shoots at regular distances from each other, 
for bearers the coming summer ; cut out the superabundant 
with part of most of the last year's bearers, and naked 
wood. Prune so that a young shoot terminate each branch, 
and shorten the reserved shoots ; the smallest to three or 
four joints, and the strong ones to ten or twelve. Fasten 
the vines to trellises as soon as pruned, with list, or shreds 
of woollen cloth, arranging the general branches from ten 
to twelve inches distance, more or less, according to the 
size of the vines and space allotted for them to grow.— See 
observations on training and pruning, page 217; also, 
article Grape Vine, 244 to 257. 

Prune Apple trees, 225 ; Cherry, 231 ; Pear, 266 ; Plum, 
268 ; Quince, 271 ; also, Currant bushes, 235 ; Gooseberry, 
242 ; cutting out all crowded branches, worn-out bearers 
and decayed wood. 

Cut out and destroy all the old stems of Raspberry shrubs, 
reserve three or four of the strongest young shoots on each 
stool ; shorten them at the top, and take away all others, 



March.] MONTHLY CALENDAR. 321 

the strongest of which may be transplanted to form a new- 
bed, 273. 

If any removals are contemplated, or fresh trees, vines, 
or shrubs required, they should be planted as soon as the 
ground can be brought into good condition. 

Plant cuttings and suckers of Gooseberries and Currants ; 
also, of such fruit trees as produce them, in order to raise 
stocks to bud and graft upon ; fruit stones and kernels may 
be also sown for the same purpose. 

Young trees, shrubs, and vines may be obtained at pub- 
lic nurseries, in different stages of growth, suited for general 
planting ; and others sufficiently advanced for immediate 
bearers ; these should be carefully taken up, and re-planted. 
For full information on this subject, the reader is referred 
to the article " on the choice of fruit trees in the nursery," 
279. 

APRIL. 

vegetable department. 

This is certainly the most important month in the year 
for gardening operations. Finish as early as possible the 
planting of esculents for seed, and see that all plants of the 
same genus are remote from each other, or they will 
adulterate. All the soil of a garden should be dug or 
ploughed this month if possible, and seme of the early crops 
sown last month will require hoeing and weeding. 

Great care should be taken to have good sound seeds, as 
this is a matter of the utmost importance, and for want of 
which, many are disappointed in their principal crops when 
too late to sow again. It is also a material consideration to 
have the best varieties hoth of seeds and plants of the 
respective kinds. See pages 16 and 17. 

If not done last month, make plantations of Artichokes, 
18 ; Asparagus, 21 ; Beans (vicia faba), 25 ; towards the 
end of the month, plant Beans (Phaseolus), 28 and 29 ; 
plant Beet seed, 30 ; sow late kinds of Broccoli seed, 33 ; 
seed of Cabbage for summer use, 39 ; Cardoon, 41 ; plant 
Carrot, 42 ; Celery, 43 ; Chervil, 46 ; Chives, 46; sow Cress 



322 MONTHLY CALENDAR. {April, 

seed, 47 ; plant Cucumber, 100 ; sow Endive, 50 ; Garden 
Burnet, 51 ; plant Indian Corn, 53 ; Jerusalem Artichokes, 
53 ; sow Leek seed, 54 ; Lettuce seed, 55 ; plant Melon, 
109: sow Mustard seed, 58 ; plant Nasturtium, 58 ; sow 
Onion seed, 59 ; Parsley, 61 ; Parsnip, 62 ; plant Peas, 
64; Potatoes, 66 ; Sweet Potatoes, 67; Pumpkins, 67; 
Patience Dock, 68 ; sow Radish seed 69 ; plant Rocambole, 
70 ; Rhubarb, 70; Salsify 73 ; Scorzonera, 73 ; Sea-Kale, 
75; sow Sorrel 76; Skirret, 77; Spinach, 79; plant 
Squash, SO ; sow Turnip seed for summer use, 84 ; Navet, 
or French Turnip, variety esculejita, 40 ; make Hop planta- 
tions, 117 ; Horse-Radish, 52. Sow the seeds of Angelica, 
Anise, Basil, Boreage, Caraway, Clary, Coriander, Dill, 
Fennel, Pot Marigold, Sweet Marjorum, Summer Savory ,- 
Smallage, Thyme, Bene, Boneset, Catnep, Celandine, Saf- 
fron, and such other Aromatic, Sweet, and Medicinal Herbs 
as may be required. Also separate and transplant all kinds 
of perennial Herb roots, such as Mint, Pennyroyal, Sage, 
Winter Savory, Tarragon, and Medicinal Herbs in general, 
as described page 87 to 89. If not done last month, attend 
to the spring dressing of Artichoke beds, 20; Asparagus, 
23 ; Rhubarb, 71 ; Sea-Kale, 75. 

Besides the work of sowing and planting the various 
kinds of seeds above enumerated, all the strongest plants of 
Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Lettuce, must be taken from the 
hot-beds and frames, and transplanted into the regular beds 
in the open garden. Attend to such other business in this 
department as was left undone last month, and see that the 
garden be kept neat and free from weeds. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

This is the most important month in the year for garden- 
ing operations. If not done towards the end of last month, 
the covering must be taken from hardy flowering plants, 
early in this month, and the beds and borders attended to 
as directed, pages 127 and 137 ; at the same time, clip 
edgings of box, and clean, relay, or make new gravel walks, 



April] MONTHLY CALENDAR, 323 

&c, 122; prune and transplant flowering shrubs, 138 and 
146 ; also hardy herbaceous plants, 135. 

Sow flower seeds : the hardiest may be sown in the open 
borders, and the tender in hot beds, 128 to 130. 

All the soil of a garden should be dug this month, if 
possible, and pulverized as directed, 127 and 158. 

It will be necessary to look over all the greenhouse 
plants in the early part of this month ; let them be deprived 
of dead wood, if any, by a careful pruning ; at the same 
time take off all yellow leaves ; the earth at the top of the 
pots should be loosened, so as to admit the sun and air to 
the roots of the plants, 195 and 197. 

If insects prevail on roses or other plants, a fumigation 
with tobacco smoke will be necessary. 

Bulbous roots wili require some attention this month ; 
those in bloom in the garden should be tied up to wires or 
small sticks ; and those kept inside should be watered in 
proportion as they get heat and air. 

The Calla, or Ethiopian Lily; and the different varieties 
of Rhododendrons will need frequent watering while in bud 
and blossom. 

Air must be admitted freely to all greenhouse plants 
towards the end of this month, in order to prepare them for 
the exposure of the open garden next month. 
For the method of managing Dahlia roots, see 175: prepare 
to plant tender bulbous roots, towards the end of this, or 
early in the next month. The following should be for- 
warded in pots, which may be kept in a greenhouse or 
warm room, or they may be plunged in a hot-bed ; Ama- 
ryllises, 161 ; Gladioluses, 177 ; Lilies, 181 ; Tuberoses 
and Tiger flowers, 189. 

Hydrangeas, Pomegranates, Verbenas, and other decidu- 
ous shrubby plants, should be cultivated early in this month, 
to promote the production of leaf and flower buds. 

Biennial seeds, such as Wall flower, and Stock Gilly 
flower ; also all kinds of tender perennials should be sown 
this month, if not previously done in the -greenhouse, or 
in hot-beds. 



324 MONTHLY CALENDAR. [April* 

For an exhibition of the order of the flowering tribe in 
this month and the next, the reader is referred to an article, 
entitled the Beauties of April and May, page 147 to 155. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

Finish pruning hardy fruit trees the early part of this 
month, also Apricot, 228 ; Almond, 230 ; Fig, 237 ; Mul- 
berry, 259 ; Nectarine, 260 ; Peach, 264 ; not forgetting 
any other of those trees, vines, and shrubs which were left 
undone last month. 

Prepare the ground for planting, by digging, trenching, 
and manuring, either generally or in such particular places 
as are allotted for the trees to be planted in, 206. 

This is the most proper season for planting the Apricot, 
Almond, Fig, Grape, Mulberry, Nectarine, Peach, and 
all such fruit trees, vines, or shrubs as originated in warm 
climates, 207. Apple, Cherry, Pear, Plum, Quince and all 
other haidy fruit trees, may also be planted with safety 
early in this month ; but autumn is considered the most 
favourable season for planting all trees, vines, or shrubs of 
northern latitude, 20S. 

Those who have variety of soil should accomodate all 
the varied kinds of fruit to that which has been proved to be 
the best adapted to its culture ; and due attention should be 
paid to situation and aspect, in planting a fruit garden or 
orchard, 209. 

Use means to destroy insects while in a torpid state, to 
prevent their spreading, and also the larvae of insects ; direc- 
tions for which, wiil be found in the article headed 
" observations on insects and diseases to which fruit trees 
are liable," 210. 

Grafting may be performed on fruit trees in general, 222. 
Prune and plant Currant bushes, 235; Filbert, 239; 
Gooseberry, 242 ; Raspberry, 273. Plant cuttings and 
suckers from these shrubs ; also of such trees as produce 
them, in order to get a supply of stocks to bud and graft 
upon, as well as some for bearing. Fruit stones and ker- 
nels of various kinds may be sown for the same purpose. 



April.] MONTHLY CALENDAR. 325 

This is a good season to plant cuttings of Grape Vines, 
247 and 251 ; and tender varieties that were lain down in 
autumn, should be taken up, and fastened to trellises or 
stakes, 250* 

Strawberry beds that were protected with leaves or litter 
through the winter, should be uncovered and the plants 
carefully cultivated ; some lay straw over their beds, an inch 
or two thick, and set fire to it, 275. 

MAY. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT* 

As the warm weather progresses, the gardener should be 
on the alert, in order to conquer the various kinds of insects. 
Burn damp litter, stubble, leaves, weeds, &c. near fruit trees* 
and sow ashes over the ground. Attend to plantations of 
Cabbages, Cauliflower, &c, hoe them frequently, and 
draw earth to their stems ; look out for and destroy grub- 
worms, caterpillars, and other insects, 12 ; weed and thin 
the early plantings of Beets, Carrots, Parsnips, Salsify, &c, 
and destroy weeds, to prevent their seeding in the ground. 
Plant and sow such kinds of seeds as were omitted last 
month, and transplant Cabbage, Lettuce, Tomatoe, Egg- 
plants, &.c, from the hot-beds and warm borders. Plant 
Beans, 27 and 29 ; Beet, 30 ; sow Borecole, 32 ; Brussels 
Sprout seed, 32 ; Broccoli, 33 ; Cauliflower, 37 ; Cabbage 
seed, 39 ; Carrot, 42 ; Cress, 47 ; plant Cucumbers, 48; 
sow Endive seed, 59 ; plant Indian Corn, 53 ; Melon, 56 ; 
Water Melon, 57; sow Mustard seed, 58; Nastur- 
tium, 58 ; Okra, 59 ; Pepper, 63 ; plant Peas, 64 ; Potatoes, 
66 ; Potatoe, Sweet, 67 ; Pumpkins, 67 ; sow Radish seed, 
69 ; Sorrel, 76 ; plant New Zealand Spinach, 79 ; Squash, 
80; Tomatoe, 81. In the early part of this month, finish 
sowing all kinds of Aromatic, Pot, Sweet, and Medicinal 
Herbs, 88 and 89. Some of the old hot- beds may be 
spawned for Mushrooms, but it is best to form new ones. 
Uncover productive beds once a week, and gather the pro- 
duce; clear them of weeds and wet litter, and put a little 

28 



326 MONTHLY CALENDAR. [May. 

dry hay or straw next the bed. Prepare fresh spawn, &c, 

105 to 108. 

Watering will now be frequently required to newly planted 
vegetables, both at the time of transplanting, and occasion- 
ally afterwards in dry weather, until the roots are established 
in the soil. Likewise seed beds recently sown, till the 
young plants become vigorous. 

Weeding must be very diligently attended to, both by 
hand and hoe ; for as weeds grow luxuriantly it is necessary 
to eradicate them, before they spread too far, as by neglect, 
they will not only impede the growth, but eventually smo- 
ther the plants. 

Towards the end of the month, top such of the English 
Broad Beans as may be in blossom, to promote the swelling 
of the pods, as well as their early maturity • — See page 26. 

Thosa who have young families should not fail sowing 
some Bene plant seed, as the leaves of this plant by being 
plunged in a glass of water, produce a glutinous liquid, 
which is an efficacious remedy for summer complaints. It 
may be sown in drills, and managed the same as Salad or 
Parsley. — See Herbs, 88. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

As the warm weather progresses, the gardener should be 
on the alert, in order to conquer the various kinds of insects. 
Burn tobacco leaves in the greenhouse, so as to fumigate 
the plants well, before they are removed into the open gar- 
den ; and such plants as may show any indications of being 
infested with the eggs of insects, should be sponged with 
soap-suds, and afterwards well syringed and watered. 
Frequent sprinkling from the rose of a watering-pot, will 
prevent insects from accumulating ; especially if the water 
be impregnated with tobacco, by a bag of the leaves being 
steeped therein a few hours previous to using it. 

Choice Geraniums will need attention this month, in 
order that they may exhibit their flowers to advantage. 
When in full bloom, care should be taken not to wet the 



May ] MONTHLY CALENDAR. 327 

foliage or flowers, but this may be done freely before the 
buds are expanded. 

If awnings were not provided last month, for the protec- 
tion of choice flowers, it should be attended to early in this 
month, 161, 179, and 189 ; Plant Amaryllises, 161 ; 
Double Dahlias, 175 and 176; Gladioluses, 177; Lilies, 
181 ; Tuberoses and Tiger flowers, 189 ; Sow annual, 
biennial, and perennial flower seeds in the open borders, 
128 to 134. Attend to the walks, edgings, &c. and see 
that tall plants are neatly tied to sticks, wires, or stakes, 
122, 136, 176 and 179. Procure and plant such perennial 
plants as may be necessary to make variety in the flower 
beds, 134 and 135. 

Greenhouse plants may be set out about the middle of 
the month, and it should be done in cloudy weather, in 
order that they may be prepared gradually for the shining 
of the sun upon them. A situation, exposed to the sun for 
only one half of the day, is preferable for most plants, 
especially if they can be shaded at noon. 

Many plants, such as Coronillas, Heaths, Aucubas, 
Myrtles, Oleanders, and several other sorts, are subject to 
be infested with white and brown scaly insects ; if these 
cannot be effectually taken from the plants by washing 
and sponging, let the plants be headed down early in the 
month of May, and if they are well attended to, now branches 
will shoot out on the old stem. 

Such Orange trees as were budded last July or August, 
should also be headed down early in this month, 

Auriculas, Polyanthus and Daisies, should be separated 
into single tufts, and planted in a shady border for increase, 
as soon as they have done blossoming. 

Such Carnations as may have been wintered in frames 
should now be exposed to the open air, in the flower borders. 

Tulips, which will be in full perfection by the middle of 
this month, will require constant attention. 

Such greenhouse plants as may have done blossoming 
may be pruned this month, and if the cuttings be planted at 
this time they will strike freely. 



328 MONTHLY CALENDAB. [May- 

Cuttings of Salvia splendens and fulgens, will produce 
strong plants for blossoming in August, if planted early in 
this month. Chrysanthemum cuttings should now be put 
down, and the suckers divided, and planted singly in the 
borders, or in pots, for flowering in the autumn. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

Finish planting trees, vines, and shrubs as early in this 
month as possible ; those planted last month should be 
kept watered in dry weather, and stakes should be applied 
to such as may be exposed to the wind. 

Finish grafting early in this month, 222. Apples, Pears, 
and other late shooting kinds may still succeed. 

Strawberry beds may be made this month, and if the 
transplanting is well done, and the plants frequently 
watered, they will produce some fruit this year, and a plen- 
tiful supply the next season. The Methven Scarlet, and 
Mulberry or Pine, are large and yield plentifully. Keen's 
seedling and also the Downton are of superior flavour. The 
Elton seedling, Southborough seedling, Myatt's seedling 
and Bishop's orange are in great repute where cultivated. 
The Wood and the Alpine Strawberry will produce finer 
fruit from seed sown in the spring than from offsets. For 
mode of planting, &c, see article page 274. 

If frosts prevail when fruit trees are in blossom ; those 
trained on trellises or against walls and fences, may be pro- 
tected by hanging matting or sheets of tow cloth over them ; 
some defend them by sticking bunches of evergreens 
between the branches, as cedar, laurel, pine, &c. The object 
in doing this, is not so much to keep out the frost, as to 
break off the sun's rays in the morning after a frosty night; 
see page 34, also flower department for December. 

Propagate Fig trees, by layers, cuttings, suckers, and by 
grafting, 237. 

If any webs or larvae of insects appear on the leaves of 
fruit trees and vines, pluck off and destroy such leaves 
before the insects become quickened, which may be a 
means of preventing any depredation to the advancing 



May.] MONTHLY CALENDAR. 329 

leaves and buds. In large fruit gardens and orchards 
means should be used to destroy insects by fumigation, 
washing, &.c. See observations on Insects, and diseases to 
which fruit trees are liable, page 210. 

Divest young budded and grafted trees of all shoots from 
the stocks, below the bud or graft, as they appear, also rub 
off all useless buds in early shooting wall trees, as Necta- 
rine, Apricots, &c. 

JUNE. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

The principal sowing seasons for general crops may be 
considered as past, but there are many kinds of seeds which 
may be sown this month ; and the gardener should ascer- 
tain the success of his former plantings, in order to make 
up any deficiencies from failures, before the season be too 
far advanced. By this time, some of the early crops will be 
cleared off, and such ground as was manured for the early 
crops of Lettuce, Radishes, Spinach, &c, will be in excellent 
order for late Beets and Carrots. Hoe and thin out all 
standing crops, and clean vacant ground, to prevent weeds 
from running to seed. If the ground be dry, frequent hoe- 
ing will be beneficial. Use means to destroy insects ; read 
pages 11 to 13 for information on this subject. Plant 
Kidney Beans, 27 ; Beet seed, 30. If the seedling plants 
of Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, &c, failed last month, 
sow again early this month. Water the beds frequently, and 
sow tobacco dust, soot, ashes, &c, or use the liquid recom- 
mended page 12. Transplant Cabbage, Celery, &c, for 
summer use ; transplant Cardoons, 41 ; sow Carrot seed in 
drills, 42 ; plant Cucumber seed in hills, 48 ; sow Endive 
seed, 51 ; plant Indian Corn, 53; transplant Leeks, 54 ; 
plant Peas, soak them five or six hours in water, 64 ; plant 
Potatoes, 66 and 67 ; Pumpkin seed, 67 ; sow Black 
Radish seed, 69. 

As the herbs come into flower, they should be cut on a 
dry day, and spread in a shady place to dry for Winter use, 
89. Conduct Hop vines to the poles, and when they have 



330 STONTHLT CALENDAR. [Jimt. 

reached the top, nip off the tops to strengthen the stems, 117. 
— Hoe between the Artichokes, and in order to have the 
main top fruit attain its full size, detach the small suckers, 
or lateral heads. — See page 20. 

Early Cauliflowers, which will be now progressing to- 
wards maturity, must be watered in dry weather, and as the 
heads begin to exhibit themselves, break down some of the 
large leaves over them to protect them from the sudden 
rays of the sun, and from rain, 36. 

Keep Asparagus clear of weeds, and also Onions; and 
give those beds that are to stand for ripening a final thin- 
ning, as suggested in page 60. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

The principal sowing season may be considered as past ; 
but if any failures should have happened of former sowings, 
seeds may be sown the early part of this month, which if 
kept watered occasionally, will grow quickly. 

Greenhouse plants will need watering every evening, in 
dry warm weather ; and in the absence of dews, some 
sorts may need a little in the morning at sunrise, 196. 
Hydrangeas, Daisies, Polyanthus, Primulas, &c. should be 
kept shaded from the noonday sun, or they will droop, and 
some may die. Carnations and Pinks will need frequent 
waterings at the roots, and the branches should be tied 
neatly to rods. 

Such flowering shrubs as may have been planted late in 
the spring season, should be frequently watered in dry 
weather. Give frequent waterings to the flower beds, in 
general ; cut down dead flower stalks ; remove decayed 
plants, and carefully replace them with vigorous ones from 
the nursery bed. Transplant annual flower plants into the 
regular beds, with a small trowel or neat dibble, 130. 

Plant Colchicums, 162 ; finish planting Dahlias, and pro- 
vide poles for their support, 176 ; water them occasionally 
in dry weather. 

Many sorts of bulbolis roots will be ripe by the end of this 
month ; these should be taken up, and dried as directed 



June.] MONTHLY CALENDAR. 331 

page 158. Those cultivated in pots should not be watered 
after the foliage is decayed, until the period of regermina- 
tion takes place, 159 and 191. 

Numerous beautiful flowers exhibit themselves this 
month, some of which are noticed in an article entitled The 
Beauties of April and May, page 1 47 to 155. There are, 
however, several others worthy of notice, which are omitted 
in that article. The several species of the Phlox are 
remarkably showy plants, and very desirable to cultivate, as 
they blossom in their several varieties the whole season. 
Besides these are all the splendid varieties of Roses, Pinks, 
Lychnises, Sweet Williams, Fox Gloves, Snap-dragons, 
Perennial Lupins, Verbenas, Veronicas, Valerians, &c. 
These should be all attended to, and their branches should 
be tied to neat stakes, so as to enable them to exhibit their 
flowers to the greatest possible advantage. 

Dahlias that are intended for blossoming this year, should 
be planted by the middle of this month, if not done before. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

The principal business of this month in the fruit garden 
is summer pruning, which is generally performed with the 
finger and thumb, by detaching all superfluous shoots and 
buds ; and also to thin the young fruit of Apricot, Necta- 
rine, and other choice trained trees, where it sets too thick 
or in clusters, see pages 229, 261 and 265. 

Newly planted trees should be watered in hot dry weather, 
once or twice a week. 

Cherry trees of the finest sorts may be defended from 
birds, with nets, particularly those trained as espaliers, 231, 

Currant and Gooseberry shrubs of choice late varieties, 
trained as espaliers or standards, if very crowded with 
shoots of the year, should be pruned, and the Gooseberry 
fruit thinned to promote its growth and ripening in full 
perfection, 236 and 243. 

All trees on espaliers require attention ; cut off such 
superfluous shoots as are not required to be trained in 
leaving well situated middle-sizecj shoots to supply the plac§ 



332 MONTHLY CALENDAR. [JlUlC. 

of any old branches that it may be thought necessary to cut 
away. 

Grape vines should be looked over every week. Cut off 
all the tendrils and useless young shoots, and stop the 
shoots before the bunches of fruit. Train up the shoots 
for bearing next season, and to a proper length before you 
stop them. 

JULY. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

This a very important month for transplanting Cabbage, 
Cardoon, Celery, Endive, Leek plants, &c. for full autumn 
crops. Prepare trenches for the Celery plants beforehand, 
in order that they may be ready to catch the rain.* Leeks 
may be transplanted in dry weather by first steeping the 
roots in mud, and Cabbage plants too, if there be the least 
danip in the ground when it is fresh turned over. If Car- 
doon s or Celery be planted in dry weather, the trenches 
must be shaded with boards. As grub.worms are generally 
numerous in this month, plant with caution, try a few 
Cabbage plants first ; if none are eaten off, you may venture 
to proceed, and by the middle of the month, the danger is 
generally over. 

If Beets and Carrots have failed, the seeds may produce 
good roots by Autumn, if planted early in this month ; 
plant Beans, 27 ; Cabbage seed may be sown now for Col- 
lards, 41 ; plant Cucumber seed for picklers, 49; sow 



* Some gardeners are accustomed to cultivate Celery on the level ground { 
others, after making their trenehes in the usual way, have gone to the 
expense of carting suitable soil from a distance, with which they reple- 
nished their trenches until nearly full. Those who have pursued the 
latter plan, say that they were rewarded for their trouble, by gathering 
loots of superior size and quality ; but it is doubtful whether it would prove 
profitable to practice this plan on an extensive scale. It may, however, be 
judicious in those gardeners whose subsoil, or under stratum, is inferior, or 
ill adapted for the cultivation of Celery, to cultivate it in shallow drills, or 
furrows worked out with a plough, by which means they may secure good 
soil to plant in, and also to earth up with. In such cases the rows must be 
from four to five feet apart, and frequent ploughing between them would 
promote the growth of the plants. (See page 45.) 



Jufy.] MONTHLY CALENDAR. 333 

Endive seed, and transplant the former sowing, 51 ; if Peas 
be planted now, they should be soaked in soft water five or 
six hours previous, 64 ; Potatoes may be planted early in 
this month, 66 ; and Pumpkins if not done last month, 67. 
Sow Black Spanish Radish seed in drills, 69 ; sow Turnip- 
rooted Cabbage seed, or Navet, 40 ; this is a good season 
for Ruta Baga, or Russian Turnip, 85 ; and the common 
kinds of Turnip seed may be sown towards the end of this 
month, 84, Attend to plantations of Hops, 117 ; whatever 
herbs may be required for winter use, should be cut off and 
dried as they come into flower ; Burnet, Chervil, Fennel, 
Mint, Parsley, Sweet Marjoram, Tarragon, Thyme, Win- 
ter and Summer Savory, may all be cut this month, 89. 

The business of sowing and transplanting will be more 
successful if done in moist or showery weather, or on the 
approach of rain, or immediately after, especially for preca- 
rious seeds, and young seedling plants. Attend to the 
Mushroom beds, and give light waterings, or expose them 
to warm moderate showers occasionally, 104 to 108. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

Greenhouse plants will need daily care at this season ; 
let them bo watered every evening in dry weather. Such 
Geraniums as may have grown large and unwieldy, should 
now be pruned, in order that their size and appearance 
may be improved, 197, 

Garden Roses having done flowering for the season, 
should also be pruned. Cut out all old exhausted wood, 
and where it is too thick and crowded, shorten such shoots 
as have flowered, to a good fresh strong eye, or bud, accom- 
panied with a healthy leaf. All wood that grows after this 
pruning, will ripen perfectly, and produce large flowers the 
ensuing year. 

If dry warm weather, it may be necessary to water such 
flowering shrubs and roses as were planted in the spring ; 
and if Dahlia plants could be watered two or three times a 
week, it would be beneficial to their growth. Give regular 
sprinklings from the rose of a watering-pot, or syringe, to 



334 MONTHLY CALENDAR. [July. 

shrubby plants in general, but particularly Camellias, Orange 
and Lemon trees, &c., in order to keep them in a healthy 
state. 

Such bulbous roots in pots, whose foliage have withered, 
should be kept dry until the period of regerminating, 159 
and 191 ; others may be taken up as soon as ripe, after 
which the offsets may be parted off, and both these and the 
parent bulbs dried for planting in Autumn, 158. 

The flower garden should be kept weeded and watered, 
and the seeds gathered as they ripen ; apply neat rods to 
tall-growing and running kinds of plants. Nip off curled 
and dead leaves, and destroy insects. 

Orange and Lemon trees may be budded at any time 
this month, and those which were headed down in the 
spring, should be examined, and all superfluous shoots 
must be pruned off with a sharp knife, leaving only the 
strongest ; the tops of which should be pruned off to pro- 
mote their branching. Myrtles, Oleanders, and such other 
plants as may have been headed down in May, will need 
similar treatment. 

Carnations, Pinks, Panseys, Running Verbenas, &c. 
may be laved this month for propagation, and many kinds 
of cuttings may still be planted with success, 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

Thin the fruit of Apricots, which will be good for pies 
and tarts, 229 ; thin Nectarines, also such Peaches and 
other fruits as may be desired in full perfection, 261 and 265. 

Defend choice fruits from birds and insects, such as 
wasps, flies, &c. ; the birds may be kept off by nets, and 
the insects may be decoyed and drowned, by placing phials 
of strong liquor, honey, or sugared water near the fruit. 

If annoyed with ants, place cuttings of reed, hollowed 
elder, or anything of a tube-like kind, in which they will 
harbour, and may be destroyed by dipping the tubes in hot 
water. 

If mildew appear on grape vines, syringe them with 
water, in which a small quantity of sulphur and stone lime 



July.\ MONTHLY CALENDAR. 335 

has been infused (it need not be over strong). To prevent 
any injurious effects from the lime, the vines may be 
syringed alternately with the liquid, and pure water, each 
two or three times a week* 

Look over your fruit trees and grape vines ; stop the 
shoots before the bunches of fruit, and train up such shoots 
as are reserved for bearing next year. Nip off curled and 
dead leaves, and destroy insects. 

AUGUST. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

The planting season being nearly oVer, now is the time 
to hoe around the plants and clear the ground of weeds and 
stubble. Dig or plough vacant ground ready for Fall Tur- 
nips, Spinach, Shallots, Fetticus, &c. As the ground for 
the latter crops may require manure, it will be greatly 
improved if ploughed before the manure is drawn on, which 
should be afterwards spread and ploughed under. 

Plant Beans for picklers, 27 ; sow Cabbage seed for 
Collards, 41 ; earth up Cardoons, 41 ; do. Celery, 45; sow 
Corn Salad, or Fetticus seed, 46 ; the early kinds of Cucum- 
ber may produce picklers, if planted early in this month, 49 ; 
transplant Endive and prepare to blanch the early plantings, 
51; Peas may be planted thus late, if desired, 64; sow 
Black Radish seed, 69 ; prepare for planting Shallots by the 
end of this month, 78 ; sow Turnip seed for full crops, 84 ; 
attend to such herbs as were not gathered last month, cut 
off and dry Sage, and other late herbs, 89. Hops will be 
ripe this month ; choose a dry season for gathering them, 
and attend to them as directed, page 118; this is a good 
season for preparing to make Mushroom beds, in close 
sheds, cellars or pits ; if the materials be collected this 
month, indigenous spawn may be collected next, but those 
who ean procure spawn may make the beds at any time, or 
they may pursue Mr. Nichol's plan, 107. 

Artichokes will be in perfection this month, and should 
be cut for use as soon as the scales of the head expand, and 



336 MONTHLY CALENDAR. [August. 

before they open in the heart for flowering ; and as you cut 
them, break down the stems to promote the growth of root 
offsets, 20. In dry weather hoe and plough between such 
vegetables as may have been planted in rows, which will 
not only destroy weeds but encourage the growth of the 
plants. Frequent hoeing in dry weather, will be more 
beneficial than the watering pot. 

Early sown Onions, being now of mature growth, and 
full bulbed, should be pulled up in dry weather and exposed 
to the sun to ripen ; frequently turning them, that they may 
harden equally for keeping ; then clear them from the gross 
part of the stalks, and loose outer skins, earth, &c, and 
remove them to a place of shelter, 60. 

Continue to gather seeds of all kinds as they ripen, and 
prepare vacant ground for late crops ; such as Spinach, 
Shallots, Onions, Fetticus, <fcc. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

Greenhouse plants will need particular attention this 
month. They should be watered every evening in dry wea- 
ther, and as soon as the extreme heat of the summer is past, 
which is generally by the latter end of this month, or early 
in the next, preparation must be made for replenishing with 
fresh compost, and repotting such plants as are intended to 
be cultivated through the winter in a greenhouse, light 
room, or garden frames. Previous to the commencement of 
this business, let such compost as is suited to the various 
kinds of plants, be provided, 197. 

Those who may have a number of plants in various sized 
pots, should provide a few new pots a cize larger than the 
largest in use ; the largest plants being shifted into the new 
pots, leaves the next sized pots for the second-sized plants, 
and by pursuing this plan of shifting until the whole are 
done, the smallest pots will be left for such plants as have 
been propagated in the course of the summer. 

The shifting of plants requires considerable attention and 
judgment, as some plants, if kept in too large pots, will sus- 
tain considerable injury : therefore, in such cases, where the 



August] MONTHLY CALENDAR. 337 

fibrous roots have not spread around the pot, nothing more 
is necessary than to rub off a little of the outside mould, and 
then to substitute fresh compost for the roots to run in. 

Such plants as may have become pot-bound, and whose 
roots are matted around the pot, will, in many cases bear 
reducing. If the matted roots are carefully pared off, and the 
plants shifted into good fresh compost, they will soon take 
root, and grow freel/ ; but it will be necessary to prune off 
all surplus branches of the plants,previous to repotting them, 
and to shade them for a week or ten days. 

Pieces of tile, or broken pots, should be laid over the 
aperture at the bottom of the pots, to enable the surplus 
moisture to drain off, or the roots will sustain injury. 

The flower beds will need attention this month. Water 
Dahlias and other choice plants in dry weather ; cut down 
all decayed flower stalks, as soon as the seed is gathered, 
and pull up annuals as they cease to flower. 

Plant Oxalises in small pots, 183, and prepare compost 
for other tender bulbs to be planted in pots next month. 

Rose shrubs, Orange, Lemon trees, &c. &c, should be 
budded early in this month if not done before. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

Pursue all that remains to be done of summer pruning, all 
trained fruit trees and vines, as in the last two months ; 
destroy all irregular and unnecessary after-shoots, and 
train-in a requisite supply of well-situated shoots, for 
bearers next year. 

Keep Raspberry beds clear of all straggling suckers ; tie 
up such shoots as are adapted for next year's bearers to neat 
Stakes, and keep the ground clear of weeds, 273. 

Strawberry beds should be kept clear of weeds, and the 
runners may be taken from some kinds to make new plan- 
tations with, 275. 

If dry weather prevail, as is generally the case at this 
season, hoe frequently between such young trees, shrubs, 
&c. in the nursery beds, as are well rooted ; and water 
those which were recently transplanted. 

29 



338 monthly calendar* [September. 

SEPTEMBER. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

Although the sowing season is nearly over, the crops on 
the ground require attention, constantly. Endive may still 
be transplanted for winter use. Hoe Cabbage and other 
vegetables, and attend to the earthing of Celery as it 
progresses in growth. Sow Cauliflower seed, 35 ; Cabbage, 
38 ; Corn Salad, or Fetticus, 46 ; Cress every ten days for 
a salad, 47 ; sow Mustard, Rape, &c, for the same pur- 
pose ; sow Lettuce seed, 55 ; Onion to stand the winter, 60 ; 
Radish for Fall use, 69 ; plant Shallots, 78 ; sow Spinach 
seed every week or ten days, 79 ; Turnips will sometimes 
come to maturity if the seeds be sown the early part of this 
month, and those sown last month will need hoeing as they 
progress in growth, 84. 

Continue to gather, dry, and pack Hops as they ripen, 118 ; 
also all aromatic, sweet and medicinal herbs, 89 ; this is a 
good season to make Mushroom beds in sheltered situations ; 
they may be spawned with indigenous or artificial spawn, 
as may be most convenient. M For directions to preserve 
spawn, &c. see page 105. 

Towards the end of this month, or early in the next, is a 
good season to increase all kinds of herbaceous plants, by 
parting the roots, but it should be done in cloudy or wet 
weather ; at the same time, such plants as were raised 
from herb seeds sown in the Spring, may be transplanted 
into separate beds or borders, 88 and 89. 

In this month must be finished all the principal sowings 
and plantings necessary this year ; for this purpose, such 
ground as is intended for principal crops next year, should 
be well manured previous to planting it. See pages 78 and 79. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

Such greenhouse plants as may have been repotted and 
pruned in the course of the last month, should be looked 
over, and if they have taken root, they should be exposed 
gradually to the sun, and watered moderately in dry 
weather. 



September.] monthly calendar. 339 

If any of the greenhouse plants were planted in flower beds, 
they should be taken up and pruned early in this month, 
and then put into suitable sized pots. 

Half-hardy perennials, such as Carnations, Daisies, 
Primulas, Lilies, Hydrangeas, &c. should be taken up, 
divided carefully at the roots, and then put into moderate 
sized pots, and attended to as before directed for greenhouse 
plants. 

'"" Many hardy kinds of flower seeds may be sown this 
month, 129 and 134. This is a good season to propagate 
all kinds of hardy perennial plants, by parting the roots ; 
and those that were raised from seed in the spring, may 
be transplanted into regular flower beds, in cloudy or wet 
weather, 135. Plant Crown Imperials, 162 ; Persian Cy- 
clamens, 163 ; Ixias, 180 ; Lachenalias, 180 ; Lilies, 181 ; 
Ornithogalums, 183 ; Oxalises, 183. 

Such Chrysanthemums as are intended to be protected 
while in blossom, should now be taken up and planted in 
moderate sized pots, 197. 

Seeds of Schizanthus, Ten-week Stock, Mignonette, and 
such other species as may be desired to decorate the par* 
lour or greenhouse, should be sown this month. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT, 

Plantations of Strawberries may be made this month, 
either with runners or seedling plants. 

Protect your Grapes and other fruit from wasps and 
other insects ; either decoy them with honey or sugared 
water, or hang nets oyer the fruit ; some are at the expense 
of putting the bunches into crape or paper bags. 

Grape Vines and espalier trees in general, should be 
attended to, as directed in the previous summer months ; 
by depriving them of all useless shoots and suckers, train- 
in g-in those branches intended for the next year's bearers, 
and destroying the eggs of insects, curled leaves, &c. 

Stone fruit, which will now be continually ripening, 
should be gathered while in full pefection, and not suffered 
to get over-ripe, so as to lose its peculiar flavour. 



340 monthly calendar. [September. 

Ground allotted for the planting of fruit trees and vines 
the coming autumn, should be prepared this month by- 
digging, trenching and manuring, where necessary, 206. 

OCTOBER. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

The principal winter crops being planted, it will be 
necessary to prepare for maturing and gathering some of 
the Fall crops. Weed out Fetticus, Spinach, &c. Hoe 
and earth up Celery, do it in dry weather, and not even 
while the dew is on it, 45 ; Asparagus, Sea Kale, Skirret, 
and Dill seed may be sown this month. Towards the end 
of the month, frames must be provided for the protection of 
Parsley, Lettuce, and of such Cabbage and Cauliflower 
plants as were raised from seed sown last month. Begin to 
dig and secure all kinds of vegetables soon enough to get 
the whole placed away before the end of the next month. 
Take up Potatoes and bury them in graves so as to secure 
them from wet and frost, or put them in a warm cellar. 
Proceed to take up other roots ; begin with the tenderest 
kinds, or do that which is required to be done in dry 
weather, while it is so. Collect Pumpkins and Winter 
Squashes, and expose them to the sun and air on a dry 
bench, or ledge, before they are stowed away. Dig up 
Beets and secure them in graves, or pack them in sand in 
a cellar. 

Aromatic, Pot, and Medicinal Herbs, should now have a 
thorough cleaning and dressing ; by destroying all weeds, 
cutting away all decayed stalks, digging between such 
plants as will admit of it, and spreading earth over others 
as suggested page 89. 

Tie up full grown plants of Endive every week, in dry 
weather, for blanching in succession as required, 51. 

Horse Radish may now be dug for use as wanted, by 
trenching along each row to the bottom of the upright roots, 
leaving the old stools for future production, 52. Jerusalem 
Artichokes may be dug up for use, or to preserve for winter 
consumption. 



October.] monthly calendar. 341 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

In the early part of this month, preparation must be made 
for the housing of greenhouse plants. Previous to this 
being doue, let the room or greenhouse be white-washed 
with lime ; which will prove pernicious to insects, and 
prevent their generating amongst the plants. 

Begin the first week in this month to place all the shrubby 
plants, such as Orange and Lemon trees, on the back 
shelves ; others should be placed that they can be culivated 
to advantage, and they should all be arranged in regular 
gradation, so as to have the low-growing or dwarf plants on 
the front shelves. 

Stockgilli.es and Wall flowers should be taken up, potted, 
and kept in a shady situation, until they have taken root. 

Such Dahlia plants as have been cultivated in pots, 
should be sheltered from the chilling air, and those in the 
ground will need attention. 

Prepare the ground for all the hardy kind of bulbous 
flower roots, 158. Towards the end of the month, plant 
Anemones and Ranunculuses, 161 ; Crocuses, 162 ; Crown 
Imperials, 162 ; Gladioluses, 177 ; Hyacinths, 178 ; Irises, 
179 ; Ixias and Jonquils, 180 ; Lilies, 181 ; Narcissus, 182; 
Ornithogalums, 183 ; Pseonies, 184 ; Tulips, 185 to 188. 
For the management of bulbous roots in pots and glasses, 
see pages 191 and 192. Prune flowering shrubs, and make 
new plantations of them, 146. 

Chrysanthemums should be neatly tied up to small sticks, 
and watered occasionally with liquid manure, to promote 
their blossoming in full perfection. Those in pots intended 
to be protected for late flowering, should be watched and 
taken in, on the appearance of a frosty night ; they may, 
however, be exposed to the air as much as possible when it 
is soft and salubrious, as should all other half-hardy plants. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

Prepare the ground for planting all kinds of hardy fruit 
trees this month, by digging, trenching, and manuring 206. 

29* 



342 monthly calendar. [October. 

Gather such varieties of Apples and Pears as are in full 
growth, both of autumn eating and winter keeping kinds ; 
do it on dry days ; let the keeping sorts lay in heaps to dis- 
charge their redundant moisture ; after which convey them 
to a room adapted for preserving them through the winter ; 
lay each kind separate, and cover them up with dry straw, 
a foot or more in thickness according to the warmness of 
the room, which will preserve them in good order. 

Prune Currant and Gooseberry bushes ; make new plan- 
tations, and plant cuttings from these shrubs, prepared as 
directed in pages 236 and 242. 

Plant the stones of Cherry, Peach, Plum, &c. in drills 
about two inches deep for the purpose of raising stocks, and 
for new varieties. The kernels of Apple, Pear, Q,uince, &c. 
may be sown in drills about an inch deep for the same pur- 
pose. Plant also cuttings of hardy trees, suckers of Filberts, 
&c. 238. 

Strawberry beds which were planted last month, should 
be kept free from weeds, and if dry weather prevails, they 
should be occasion aily watered. 

Planting of hardy trees may be commenced towards the 
end of this month, or soon after the leaves show indications 
of decay, whether fallen or not. 

NOVEMBER. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

Endeavour to avoid having your garden products frozen 
fast in the ground. Begin in good earnest to secure them ; 
in fine weather dig up Beets, Carrots, and as many Skirret, 
Salsify, and other hardy roots as will be required for winter 
use, and pack them close together in graves ; give them a coat 
of straw, and afterwards heap on as much earth as will keep 
out the frost, or stow them in a cellar. Towards the end of 
the month, Turnips may be secured in the same way. 
Take up Celery in dry weather, and strike it in close 
together against a ridge which should be previously formed 
in a straight line about a foot above the level of the surface ; 



November."] monthly calendar. 343 

throw up earth from the trench sufficient to cover them 
about an inch, and then plant row after row as close and 
upright as it can be placed, with just sufficient earth 
between every row to keep the roots and stalks from touch- 
ing each other. The whole being covered up with earth, 
some long dung or litter may be thrown over it sufficient to 
keep out the frost ; and by heaping a good layer of manure 
against the last row of Celery, it may be taken out at any 
time in the winter for use. Some erect a board shed to 
preserve it froni wet, or a small quantity may be kept in a 
cellar. Cabbages must be taken up and laid in rows against 
a ridge, so as to form a square, compact, close-growing bed, 
the roots and stems being buried up to the lower leaves of 
the Cabbages. The Cabbages may be afterwards covered 
with straw, or a temporary shed may be erected over them. 
Cabbages will keep for some months in a cellar, if connected 
with their roots. For the management of Broccoli and 
Cauliflower, see pages 34 and 99. Borecole, Brussels 
Sprouts, and Collards, may be taken up and stowed away 
like Cabbages. Cardoons may be laid in like Celery, or 
preserved in sand in a cellar. Leeks may be taken up and 
laid in rows close together against a ridge, and covered up 
as far as the lower leaves ; if the last row be protected 
from frost by a coat of stable dung, they can be taken out 
when required for use. Corn Salad, Spinach and Lettuce 
may be protected by a covering of straw, salt hay, or cedar 
brush. For the management of Artichoke beds, see page 
19 ; Asparagus, 23 ; Rhubarb, 71 ; Sea Kale, 75, 

Dig up roots of Horse Radish in the manner recom- 
mended last month, to preserve in sand, or graves, for use 
when the ground is frozen and ice-bound. Do the like by 
Jerusalem Artichokes, which are now in their full perfection. 
At the same time take up as many Parsnips and other 
hardy roots, as will be required for use the next three 
months. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

During the continuance of mild weather, greenhouse 
plants should have air at all opportunities, and water in pro- 



344 monthly calendar. [November. 

portion, as heat and air are attainable, 196. Bulbous roots 
in pots and glasses will also need attention, 191 to 193. 

Half hardy plants, such as Stock gillies, Wall flowers, 
Carnations, Primulas, Hydrangeas, Daisies, &c. must either 
be placed in frames, or in a greenhouse early in this month. 

If Dahlia, Tuberose, and other tender roots were not 
taken up last month, let it be done in due time this month, 
159. 

Cover up flower beds with leaves, straw, or light litter, 
137: finish planting bulbous roots before the frost sets in. 
Plant Anemones and Ranunculuses, 161 ; Crocuses, 162 ; 
Hyacinths, 178 ; Irisis, 179; Ixias and Jonquils, 180; Li- 
lies, 181 ; Narcissus, 183 ; Pa3onies, 184 ; Tulips, 185 to 
183. These, and all other kinds of plants, will need pro- 
tection before the setting in of the Winter, 158. Flowering 
and ornamental shrubs may be planted in mild weather, 146; 
lay long litter round the roots of them, and also of the Grape 
vines and other tender plants, shrubs, &c. 

Before the winter sets in severely, let such Chrysanthe- 
mums as have been cultivated in pots be planted in the 
garden, or as soon as they have done blossoming, 199. 

Plant Gladioluses in pots, 177 ; also such other bulbous 
roots as may be required to be kept in rooms, page 191. 

Mignonette, and other tender seedling plants under pro- 
tection, will require attention at this season ; they should 
not be over watered, or the plants will perish with mildew. 

Camellias should be frequently syringed while in bud, or 
watered over the foliage with a rose attached to the wa- 
tering pot, as should all other shrubs. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Chestnut, Mulberry, Quince, 
Walnut and other haidy fruit trees may now be planted ; 
use caution not to injure them in taking up, or removing 
them ; let holes be dug somewhat larger than is sufficient 
to admit the roots in their natural position, and of sufficient 
depth to allow of some good rich compost or pulverized 
earth to be thrown in before the trees are planted, see page 



November.] monthly calendar. 345 

207, and read the article headed "observations on the 
choice of fruit trees in the nursery," page 279. 

Finish gathering late varieties of Apples, Pears, Grapes, 
&c. ; do it in dry weather, and stow them away out of the 
reach of frost, as recommended last month. 

Currant, Filbert, Gooseberry and Raspberry shrubs may 
be planted this month ; at the same time cut out all crowd- 
ed branches, superfluous suckers, worn-out bearers and 
decayed wood, 236, 238, 242 and 273. 

Strawberry beds made in August and September, as well 
as those of greater age, may be covered up with leaves, 
light manure, salt hay, or other litter. 

Protect the beds where fruit seeds and cuttings, were 
planted last month, by a covering of light manure, compost, 
or leaves of trees. 

Winter pruning may be performed this month, on all 
hardy trees, shrubs, vines, &c. and continued at all oppor- 
tunities throughout the next month. 

DECEMBER. 

VEGETABLE DEPARTMENT. 

If all was not done as directed last month, there is now 
no time to be lost. Every thing that needs protection should 
be attended to, and if the weather continues open, some 
of the ground may be ploughed or trenched, to receive the 
benefit of winter frosts. Collect all your pea sticks and 
bean poles together, and place them under cover to prevent 
their rotting. Turn over compost heaps, and provide ma- 
nure for another year. 

Those who are desirous of having Cucumbers or Melons, 
early in the ensuing spring, and that have not the conveni- 
ence offorcingthem in the ordinary way, may dig a few grass 
sods or turfs, before it freezes hard, and stow them away out 
of the reach of frost, through the winter. These being 
placed on the top of a hot-bed, in March or early in April, 
with the grass downwards ; and Cucumber or Melon seeds, 
planted in the earthy part thereof, early plants may be pro- 



346 monthly calendar. [December. 

duced which can be removed with the turfs without disturb- 
ing their growth, and cultivated either on the ridge system, 
as recommended in page 110, or in the open ground, pro- 
vided they can be kept growing in frames until settled warm 
weather. This is also an excellent plan in early forcing, 
as it saves trouble as well as risk, in transplanting seedling 
plants into the fruiting beds. 

If not done last month, dress your Artichoke beds, and 
cover them as recommended page 20. Defend Mushroom 
beds with dry straw, or long stable litter, and cover such as 
may be exposed, with mats, as security against cold. In all 
moderate weather through the Winter, give air to Cabbage, 
Cauliflower, Lettuce, and such other plants as may be in 
frames, being careful to cover them every night with mats, 
boards, litter, &c. as necessity may require. 

As the year is drawing to a close, I would solicit the gar- 
dener to review the results of his practice throughout the 
past season, that he may be able to judge how to not for the 
future. 

In sketching a plan of his garden for the next year, he 
ought to make provision for a full supply of such vegetables 
as are best calculated to sell, and yield a fair profit ; with 
this object in view, I would suggest that he take a retro- 
spective view of his previous management, and also of the 
directions given in the preceding chapters relative to the 
preparation of the soil ; by ploughing, trenching, pulverizing, 
manuring, &c. as circumstances may require ; bearing in 
mind, that although clayey soils may be benefitted by Fall 
ridging, light sandy ground should lay flat throughout the 
Winter. 

FLOWER DEPARTMENT. 

If all was not done as directed last month, there is now 
no time to be lost. All kinds of tender plants in pots, 
should be set into frames or pits, and plunged in old tan or 
light mould ; and in the event of severe frosts, coverings of 
mats, straw, &c. must be laid over them. 

Greenhouse plants will need constant care and attention. 



December.] monthly calendar. 347 

When water is necessary, let it be given in mild weather, 
195. In case of accidents happening from frost, I would 
remark, that the sudden transition from cold to heat is often 
more destructive to plants than frost itself. If, therefore, 
plants get frozen, and cannot be screened from the rays of 
the sun, they should be watered as the air gets warm, and 
before they begin to thaw. If sufficient attention be paid, 
so as to have the temperature of the house gradually rising, 
as the water is sprinkled over the leaves, it may be a means 
of preserving plants that would otherwise be destroyed. 

See that the greenhouse, or room in which plants are kept, 
is so secure as to prevent the intrusion of cold air, or the 
departure of warm air in the night season. 

Collect from heaths and rocks, such kinds of earth as are 
suited to the different species of exotic plants, and gather up 
leaves of trees. If you intend to make hot-beds of them, 
they should be put together dry ; but if you intend them for 
compost, they may be laid together as wet as possible, in 
order that they may rot, for use in succeeding years. 

FRUIT DEPARTMENT. 

If any of the work recommended to be done in the last 
month was not accomplished, let it be done with all possible 
dispatch this month, as we know not what a day may bring 
forth. 

Protect the stems of newly-planted trees. Cover with 
litter the roots of Grape Vines and Figs against walls, and 
cover the branches with mats, &c. Prune Apple, Pear, 
Quince, and other hardy fruit trees ; cut out rotten and 
decaying branches. 

To destroy insects on the fruit trees, and prevent them 
from creeping up and breeding on them, do as follows: 

Take a strong knife with a sharp point, and a sharp hook- 
like iron made for the purpose ; with these scrape clean off 
all the moss and outside rough bark, and with the knife pick 
out or cut away cankered parts of the bark and of the wood, 
in such a slanting manner that water cannot lodge in the 
sides of the stems of the trees. Having cleared the trees in 



348 monthly calendar. [December . 

this way, make up a mixture of lime, soot and sulphur ; 
put these ingredients into a pot or tub, pour boiling water 
upon them, and with a stick stir and mix them well together. 
When this ^trong mixture becomes cold, and about the 
thickness of white-wash, take a brush, dip it in the mixture, 
and apply it to the stems and large branches of the trees, 
dabbing it well into the hollow parts of the bark. 

The pruning of hardy fruit trees and hardy shrubs may 
be performed at all favourable opportunities through the 
winter. 

For further information on these subjects, the reader is 
referred to the articles commencing pages 210 and 217. 



349 

COMMENDATORY NOTICES 

OF THfc 

YOUNG GARDENER'S ASSISTANT! 



" From the systematic arrangement of the part=, under appropriate heads, 
and the plain and practical nature of the instructions, it must be an inva- 
luable manual for those who may wish to superintend the management of 
their own gardens. — Albany Argus, 

" The author is an experienced practical gardener and seedsman, and his 
book is an excellent manual and guide f x the beginner, whether old or 
young, in horticultural pursuits."— Gazette. 

" It will we are persuaded be found what the writer intends it shall be, 
s generally useful to such as may wish to superintend, or take the manage* 
ment of their own gardens;' Mr. Bridgeman is a gardener himself, in the 
Bowery road, and his directions are therefore applicable to our climate — an 
advantage of no little moment. — American. 

"Written with a good deal of practica4 knowledge of the subject on 
which it treats. The directions given, the author says, are the result of 
twelve years' experience, and we dare to say, that though submitted in an 
unpretending form, they will be found as useful, if not more so, than those 
in more costly and expensive works." — Courier and Enquirer. 

" Bridgeman's Gardener's Assistant. — The fourth edition of this 
useful little manual is published, and is rendered of increased value by the 
addition of several matters not contained in either of the the former editions. 
Among these is a short and convenient calendar to assist the gardener's 
memory." — Evening Post. 

u . Thecalenderial index is invaluable, and of itself worth the price of the 
book.'' — Commercial. 

,! That work which teaches us how to create and to improve this most 
innocent and useful source of pleasure is surely worthy of applause and 
patronage; and such we consider ' The Young Gardener's Assistant. "--- 
Advocate. 

" The work is calculated to be of immense service to those engaged in 
Agriculture. ' far from the busy haunts of men,' and to the disciples of 
Flora, in the city. Mr. Bridgeman is a practical gardener and seedsman, 
and has lived many years on both sides of the Atlantic." — Old Country man, 

" From what we gather from the tenor of Mr. Bridgeman's book, we 
should suppose that he paid but little attention to the mere on dits or 
dictums of any, but that he pursued that course which his judgment 
pointed out ; and in this particularly, we value his book— leading the young 
gardener to learn to depend more on his own judgment than on the rules of 
custom.'' — American Farmer. 

" All- those who are desirous of a work on the subject of Gardening, and 
one which will convey the best information on the management of Hot- 
beds, Asparagus beds, best mode of raising all sorts of Esculent Vegetables, 
Pruning, Grafting and Budding Fruit Trees, Training the Vine, Preserv- 
ing the Fruit from Mildew, &c. should procure this. No work on the sub- 
ject ever published in this country has met with half as extensive a sale, or 
decided public approbation as this valuable compendium. Mr. Bridgeman 
fully understands the subject on which he treats. The very rapid sale of 
the five former editions is quite a sufficient recommendation.''--^, c. 
Tkorburn. 



350 COMMENDATORY NOTICES. 

" We can assure gardeners and farmers, that they will in times and 
ways almost without number, be amply compensated by purchasing the 
book. Mr. B. bestows great labour on his productions of the pen, not only 
as to practical matter of fact, but to the various excellences of style, particu- 
larly to clearness, and the avoiding a redundancy of words. The amount of 
useful information in the book constitutes its value ; and all this information 
is adapted to this country, and its climate and soil." — American Gardener's 
Magazine. 

* From the cursory examination we hove been enabled to give { The 
Young Gardener's Assistant,' we should judge that it embraces a greater 
amount of practical information, applicable to our climate, than can be found 
in any similar work. The list of fruit trees has been selected from the best 
authorities, both foreign and American, and is sufficiently extensive for any 
cultivator in this country." — Newark Daily Advertiser. 



COMMENDATORY NOTICES 
OF 

THE FLORIST'S GUIDE. 



A delightful little book, which we advise every body to purchase- at least 
every body that has the least liking for the pleasing occupation on which it 
treats. — Courier and Enquirer. 

A work of this description cannot but prove valuable to Horticulturists, 
particularly to those Ladies who are fond of the healthful employment of 
cultivating their own flower-beds --(raze^e. 

Mr, Bridgeman, of this city, has published a neat little work, entitled 
c The Florist's Guide,' containing directions for the cultivation of flowers. 
It is a pleasant and instructive book. — Times. 

* The Florist's Guide," like its companion, " The Young Gardener's 
Assistant," is a useful work, which every Gardener and Florist may con- 
sult to advantage. It gives minute directions concerning plants of various 
species : the names and characters of each being alphabetically arranged, 
makes it an invaluable manual for those who may wish to superintend the 
management of their own gardens.— Newark Daily Advertiser. 

The style is free, and the language appropriate; the plan is judicious, 
and the contents embrace much well arranged practical information, unen- 
cumbered with disquisitions foreign to the object of the work. We very 
cheerfully recommend it to our readers as a cheap and useful book." — Gar- 
dener's Magazine. 

" The Florist's Guide" has also been very favourably noticed .by the 
editors of many other respectable periodicals, as a work eminently.calculated 
to promote a love for the cultivation and correct management of flowers-the 
study of which, remarks one of these writers, "refines the taste, and imparts 
just and exalted views of the wise provisions of JSature." 



351 

INDEX 

TO 

Vegetables, Herbs, Flowers, and Fruits. 



VEGETABLES. 




Page 




Page 


Artichoke 18—335 


Melon 56— 1C 


Asparagus 21 — 97 


Melon Water 


57 


Beans, Eng. Dwarf 25—98 


Mushroom 104, 


325, 335 


Beans, Kidney Dwarf 27—99 


Mustard 


58—113 


Beans, Pole qr Running 28 


Nasturtium 


58 


Beet 30 


Okra 


59 


Borecole, or Kale 31 


Onion 


59 


Brussels Sprouts 32 


Parsley 


61 


Broccoli 33—99 


Parsnip 


62 


Cauliflower 35—99 


Peppers 


63 


Cabbage 38—92 


Peas 


64—110 


Colewort, or Collard 40 


Potatoe 


66—111 


Cardoon Artichoke 41 


Potatoe, Sweet 


67 


Carrot 42 


Pumpkin 


67 


Celery 43—332 


Patience Dock 


68 


Chervil 46 


Radish 


68—112 


Chives 46 


Rocambole 


70 


Corn Salad, or Fetticus 46 


Rhubarb 


70—112 


Cress 47—113 


Salsify 


72 


Cucumber 48, 100, 103, 345 


Scorzonera 


73 


Egg Plant 49, 92 ; 113 


Sea Kale 


74—98 


Endive 50 


Sorrel 


76 


Garden Burnet 5l 


Skirret 


77 


•Garlic 70 


Shallot 


77 


Hop 116—329 


Spinach 


78 


Horse Radish 52—343 


Squash 


80 


Indian Corn 53 


Tomato 


81—114 


Jerusalem Artichoke 53 — 343 


Turnip 


82 


Leek 54 


Turnip, French or Navet 40 


Lettuce 54—103 


Turnip, Russian 


85 


HERBS AND 


FLOWERS. 





Annual Flower Seeds, Catalogues of . . 123 

Aromatic, Pot, and Sweet Herbs, a Catalogue of 87, 88 

Biennial and Perennial Flower Seeds, a Catalogue of 131 
Climbing Plants . . . 122, 133, 137, 144 

Chrysanthemums . 199, 341 

Double Dahlias, a Catalogue of . . 164, to 174 

Edgings, Lawns, &c. . . , . 122, 136 



352 INDEX. 

Page. 
Greenhouse Plants, Management of . 194, 312 to 347 

Herbs, Pot, Sweet, and Medicinal, Culture of 87, 88, 322 
Herbs, to Preserve ... 89, 340 

Roses, running kinds of ... 145, 146 

Salad Herbs 46, 47, 58, 113 

Shrubs, Flowering and Ornamental, , 138, to 146 



POETIC PIECES. 



To raise your Flowers 

Spring: 

First Flowers 

Autumn 



123 

128 
136 
198 



The Beauties of April and 

May 147 to 155 

Winter 200 

Matrimonial Garden 201 



BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS-ROOTED PLANTS. 



Amaryllis 

Anemone & Ranunculus 

Crocus 

Crown Imperial 

Colchicum 

Cyclamen 

Double Dahlia 

Gladiolus 

Hyacinth 

Iris 

Ixia 



Apple 

Apricot 

Almond 

Cherry 

Chestnut 

Cranberry 

Currant 

Fig 

Filbert 

Gooseberry 

Grape 



160 


Jonquil 


180 


161 


Lachenalia 


180 


162 


Lily 


181 


162 


Narcissus 


182 


162 


Ornithogalum 


183 


163 


Oxalis 


183 


163 


Paeony 


184 


177 


Tulip 


185 


178 


Tuberose 


189 


179 


Tiger Flower 


189 


180 






FRU 


ITS, 





225-282 
227-287 
230 
231-288 
232 
233 
235 
237 
238 
239 
244 



Mulberry 258 

Nectarine 260-291 

Orange, Lemon, &c, 262 

Peach 264—292 

Pear 266—297 

Plum 268---304 

Quince 270 

Raspberry 272 

Strawberry 274—328 

Walnut 277 



INDEX TO THE GENERAL MATTER. 

Air, Heat, Light, and Moisture, essential to vege- 
tation ..... 196,312 
Annual, Biennial, and Perennial Plants defined . 87, 134 
Ashes valuable to the Farmer . . .84, 214, 217 
Aspect, Situation, &c. . . 7, 121, 158, 209 
Awning necessary to protect choice Flowers 161, 179, 189 
Budding and Grafting Fruit Trees . . . 221 
Blank Book Recommended . 8, 92, 129, 188, 311 
Bulbous and Tuberous Roots, defined . * 157 



index. 353 

Bulbous and Tuberous Roots, management of 156 , 191, 323 
Camellias, or Japan Roses, cultivation . 315, 344 

Choice of Fruit Trees in the Nursery 279 

Durability of the vegetative quality of seed . 16 & 17 

Definition of the term hill ... 48 

Diseases of Trees, Insects, &c. . . . 210, 279 

Double Dahlias, General Management of . 158, 175 

Drilling System recommended . 11, 39, 85, 129, 130 

Evil effects of sowing prematurely . 30, 42, 51, 84 

Effects of Cultivation exemplified in Celery . 43 

Forcing Vegetables, Observations on 94 

Flower Garden, Observations on . 121, 127, 137, 156 

Fruit to protect and preserve . 328, 331, 334, 342 

Garden Tools, &c. indispensably necessary 11, 127, 220 

Grafting Clay, Composition, &c to make . 224 

General Observations on the Kitchen Garden . 7 to 17 
Hedges of Shrubs, . . .121, 137 

Hotbeds, Management of . . 92, 95, 314 

Insects, to destroy, . . 12, 49, 84, 210 to 217 

Laying out the Ground, . . 7, 15, 120, 206 

Manure, Compost, &c. . . 10, 97, 197, 247, 347 

Monthly Calendar . . . . 311 to 348 

Observations on the Fruit Garden and Orchard . 205 

Pruning and Training Fruit Trees, Vines, &c. 137, 217, 320 
Perennial Herbaceous Plants, to propagate 134, 194, 339 

Plan of Beds, &c. . . . . 16, 90, 121 

Protection of Flower Beds . . 137, 158, 161, 189 

Plants often killed with kindness 195, 197, 199, 313, 316 
Primulas and Polyanthus, cultivation of . . 319 

Precision in small matters important . . 17, 55, 84 

Rolling recommended . . , . 11 & 14 

Roses, management of . 3IS, 333 

Rotation of crops, Observation on , . 13,83 

Soils, management of . . 9, 22, 83, 127, 157 

Sowing Season, . . . , . 9, 28, 84 

Summer Complaint, a remedy for 326 

Shrubby, Greenhouse Plants, management of 317, 334 

Shifting, potting, and replenishing greenhouse plants 197, 336 
Table of Estimates, . . „ 15 & 16 

Thermometer recommended, . . .96, 313 

Transplanting Seedling Plants . . 15, 25, 36, 130 

Temperance in the use of water recommended 196, 312 

Vegetables to preserve . . . 340, 342, 343 



RETROSPECTIVE VIEW. 

This summary view of estimates is annexed in order to aid 
the Seedsman and Gardener in making out a bill of seeds for 
the purpose of planting any given quantity of ground, under 
the regulations suggested in the preceding chapters of this 
work. Page. 

Artichoke; an ounce of seed will produce 600 plants and 

upwards ...... 18 

30* 



354 RETROSPECTIVE VIEW. 

Asparagus : one ounce of good seed will be sufficient for 
1,000 plants . . ... .21 

Beans, English Dwarf; one quart of seed will be required 
for every sixty feet of row, ... 26 

Beans, Kidney JDwarf ; one quart of seed will plant from 
350 to 400 hills, or from 230 to 260 feet of row, as ex- 
plained in page ..... 28 

Beans, Pole or Running ; one quart of Lima, or large run- 
ning Beans, will plant 100 hills. One quart of the small 
runners will plant about 300 hills, or 250 feet of row 29 

Beet ; one ounce maybe allotted for every perch, pole or rod 31 

Borecole, or Kale ; every ounce of seed will produce 
4,000 plants ..... 32 

Broccoli in varieties ; 1 ounce is sufficient for 4,000 plants 35 

Cauliflower; an ounce of this seedwill produce 4 000 plants 37 

Cabbage in varieties ; one ounce will produce 4,000 strong 
plants ...... 39 

Cardoon Artichoke; an ounce of seed will produce about 
600 plants ..... 41 

Carrot; half an ounce of good seed may be allotted for 
every pole, perch, or rod .... 43 

Celery; every ounce of good seed will produce 10,000 plants 44 

Corn Salad, or Fetticus ; one ounce of seed will sow 
about two poles of gro,und, , . . .47 

Cucumber; one ounce of good seed is sufficient for 200 hills 49 

Egg-Plant; one ounce of seed will with care produce 
4,000 plants ...... 49 

Endive, or Succory ; an ounce of seed will yield about 
6,000 plants, .... 50 

Leek ; one ounce of seed may be allotted for every 3,000 
plants ' . . . . . .54 

Lettuce ; an ounce of seed will produce from 10 to 12,000 
plants with care . . . 55 

Melon ; an ounce of good seedwill plant from 120 to 150 hills 56 

Melon, Water ; an ounce of seed will plant from 40 to 50 hills 68 

Onion ; one ounce of seed may be allotted for every pole, 
perch, or rod ..... 60 

Parsley ; two ounces may be allowed for every three per- 
ches of land ...... 61 

Parsnip; two ounces of good seed may be allotted for 
every three perches . . . . .62 

Pepper; one ounce of seed will produce 3,000 plants and 
upwards ...... 63 

Peas ; 1 quart of Peas will plant from 150 to 200 feet of row 65 

Potatoes ; from 12 to 16 bushels may be allotted for an acre 66 

Potatoe, Sweet; half a peck of seed, properly managed, 
will produce fifteen bushels . . .67 

Pumpkin ; one quart of field Pumpkin will plant from 5 
to 600 hills, and one ounce of the finest kinds will plant 
from 50 to 80 hills 69 

Radish ; four ounces of Padish seed may be allowed for 
every three perches, if sown broadcast, and about 
half the quantity if sown in drills . . .69 



RETROSPECTIVE VIEW. 355 

Salsify; two ounces of this seed may be allotted for every 
three perches ) . W. . , . .73 

Shallots ; four bushels of bulbs may be allowed for plant- 
ing every forty perches . . . .78 

Spinach ; if cultivated in drills a foot apart, four ounces 
of seed may be sufficient for five perches of land. If 
sown broadcast, it will require double the quantity 79 

Squash ; an ounce of seed will plant from 50 to 100 hills, 
according to sorts and size . . . . 80 

Tomatoe ; one ounce of seed will produce 4 3 000 plants 
and upwards >...,. 81 

Turnip ; one pound of ^ood seed is sufficient for an acre of 
land, if managed as directed page . 85 



RctrospectiveView of the Dahlia Catalogue , pages 164 to 174. 

d 3 The Dahlia Catalogue was printed early in February; since that 
time I have been put in the possession of several English Catalogues, and 
invoices of Dahlias lately imported into this country, by. which I am 
confirmed in the opinion expressed in page 174, that "the preceding 
Catalogue contains a great proportion of the choicest varieties of Dahlias 
known, except perhaps a few seedlings of the last year." 

The following superb varieties, which are just imported by Mr. G. C. 
Thorburn, at a cost of from half a guinea to five guineas each, are under 
cultivation at Hallet's Cove, plants from which will be offered for sale in 
May next, on moderate terms, at No. 11 John street. ;N. Y. where 
Catalogues describing these and other superb varieties, may be obtained 
gratis. Those marked thus §, and enclosed within parentheses, are new 
varieties. 

(§ Ariadne, § Burgundy, § Croesus,) Clara, described in page . . 166 
(§ Dodd's Mary, cost two guineas,) Duchess of Sutherland, . 167 

Duke of Bedford. Dennis's Empress, (§ Enterprize,) Exemplar, . 167 

Grandis, described in page 168 

(§ Elphinstone's King of Beauties, § Elphinstone's King of the Yel- 
lows, § Elphinstone's Rose Superba, § Elphinstone's Marquis of 
Northampton, § Elphinstone's Mrs. Broadwood, cost £2 2s. each . 
(§Headley's Golden Sovereign, cost a guinea, § Jeffries' Triumphant, 

cost fifteen shillings sterling,) King Otho, . . . 169 

§ Lavinia, cost a guinea,) Mary Glueen of Scots, cost £2 10s,, or 

about Twelve Dollars, (§ Marchioness of Northampton,) . 170 

Napoleon, Smith's, a splendid variety, cost a guinea, . . . . 171 

(§ Elphinstone's Conqueror of Europe, cost £3 3s. finest Dahlia, in 

England, white, edged with lilac) Purpurea Perfecta, . . 172 

Rival Yellow, Royal Adelaide, or Gem, ....... 173. 

(§ Peerless White, §. Selwood's King, § Sonthborough Rival, § Ster- 
ling Gold, § Scott's Rose Incomparable § Sir Henry Fletcher, 
rated high, § Toward's Adventure, § Unicorn,) Vandyke, 174 
(§ Westland's Marquis, § Widnall's Premier, superb, § Widnall's 

Glaucus, § Widnall's Rainbow,. cost a guinea ,)Yellow Perfection,. 174 



(§* Widnall's Juliet) which cost five guineas,(TwENTT-FiVE Dollars,), 
is thus described in his catalogue : deep rose colour with eupped petals, fine- 
globular shaped, remarkably full and abundant bloomer,, always producing 
show fiWers ; took the first prize at the Sheffield and Birmingham grand; 
shows, and several other places. 



356 RETROSPECTIVE VIEW. 

The following seedlings of 1836 are offered for sale in England, del'iTer- 
able in May next : — 
§ Marchioness of Tavistock, 'white ground, exquisitely edged with rose, 

decided improvement upon the Gem, or Royal Adelaide. 
* Mayle's Beauty of Bedford, rich rosy crimson, edged with shaded lilac, 

cupped petals, took several prizes in 1836. 
§ Widnall's Duke of Devonshire, a very beautiful dark purple, most 

excellent shape, with cupped petals, never failing to produce superb show 

flowers. 



Retrospective View of this Edition of the Young Gardener's 
Assistant. 



While making the preceding index, I availed myself of the opportunity 
afforded me of surveying the fruits of my labour ; and, although I have to 
crave the reader's indulgence for several errors of the press and slips of the 
pen, which appear unavoidable in a work of this kind, 1 think I may 
assert, without exposing myself to the charge of arrogance or egotism, that 
this edition very far excels those before published, not only as to the 
additional amount of information it contains, but from the precise way in 
which the instructions are exhibited to the reader, who will, I am persuaded, 
discover on an attentive perusal of the work, that he has the various subjects 
laid before him in a concise, and at the same time an explicit manner. 
To accomplish such a desideratum, has been the constant aim of 

THE AUTHOR. 

New-York, March 29. 1837. 



f^f All that portion of this work which relates to the Kitchen Garden, 
has been published in a separate volume, under the title of the Kitchen 
Gardener's Instructor ; this was done with a view to accommodate those 
persons whose attention may be devoted wholly to that branch of Horti- 
culture ; 130 pages 12mo. price 37J cents. 



357 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



SJT23W W<2»2&^ <2>S2f ^&^&!eW&reW2&IS a ,, 



$ust ^ublfsliett, 

And for Sale by the Subscriber i 



THE FLORISTS GUIDE, 

BY 

T. BRIDGEMAN, 

GARDENER AND FLORIST, NEW-YORK. 

128 Pages, neatly done up in Boards^ price 37| Cents, 



This is one of the best works on the subject ever published in any coun- 
try. It contains Practical Directions for the Cultivation of Annual, Bien- 
nial, and Perennial Flowering Plants, of different classes, Herbaceous and 
Shrubby, Bulbous, Fibrous, and Tuberous-rooted, including the Double 
Dahlia, Greenhouse Plants in Rooms, &c. &c. 

A Work of the above kind has been long wanted ; hitherto, it required an 
expenditure of some three or four dollars to get any sort of readable direc- 
tions for small gardens, window gardening, plants in rooms, &c which 
when procured, were so full of botanical foppery, that plain, honest people> 
after wading through some three or four hundred pages, were about as wise as 
to knowing how to set about their gardening, as when they commenced their 
book. The present little work obviates all these difficulties. The Author 
is well known as one of our best practical gardeners, and it may be truly 
said that he has rendered the Ladies in particular (for whom the work was 
projected) an essential service. The directions for the care of the Camellia 
Japonica, the Double Dahlia, the sowing and treatment of Annual Flower 
Seeds, are alone worth double the price of the book ; so is the Calendarial 
Index, which, by the untiring industry of Mr. Bridgeman, is made to 
include in some half dozen pages, more valuable information than is con- 
tained in some ponderous octavos on the same subject. In short, those who 
are dissatisfied after a perusal of the work, may return it. 

GEO, C. THORBURN, 
(g^ A SECOND EDITION OF THIS WORK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED. 



358 ADVERTISEMENTS 

UNION PLACE 
GARDEN, GREENHOUSE, S? SEED STORE, 

CORNER OF EIGHTEENTH-STREET AND BROADWAY, 

Immediately North of Union Place, and West of the New-York and Harlem Rail-road. 



Takes this opportunity of reminding his Friends and the Public, that he 
is still to be found at the above Establishment, where he has been for the 
last ten years ; and he trusts he shall not be accused of arrogance or egotism, 
for asserting his belief, that seventeen years' experience as a Market Gar- 
dener, and ten as a Seedsman, in the vicinity of New- York, entitle him to 
the confidence of his customers ; as he can assure them that it has been his 
constant aim during that time, to raise and procure Seeds of such varieties 
of Vegetables as are best adapted to the wants of this community ; and if he 
has at any time sold an article which on a fair trial proved to be inferior or 
degenerate, he trusts it will be attributed to circumstances which cannot 
always be controlled, rather than to neglect or design ; as his sole object 
has been to establish an unsullied reputation, which by him is appreciated 
above all other considerations. 

T. B. would here enumerate a few of the leading articles he has for sale, 
which he can with confidence recommend as equal to any that can be ob- 
tained in this or'any other country ; and does further aver, that if he thought 
he had an article in his Store that was not likely to do him credit, he would 
destroy it rather than offer it to his customers, as he is fully aware of the 
disastrous consequence it is to gardeners to be supplied with Seeds that will 
not produce Vegetables calculated to suit the market, and is always precise 
in replenishing his stock of Seeds, as well as all other articles in his line of 
business. 

GARDEN SEEDS.— A full assortment of all those varieties of vege- 
table Seeds that have been tested in this climate, and proved to have some 
good qualities to recommend them ; none others will be offered at the 
counter. 

HERB SEEDS.— Including Sage, Thyme, Sweet Marjorum, Summer 
Savory, &c. 

FLOWER SEEDS— Annual, Biennial, and Perennial Flower Seeds 
of the most esteemed varieties. 

GREENHOUSE PLANTS — Consisting of several choice varieties of 
Geraniums, or Pelargoniums, China Roses, Camellias, or Japan Roses, 
Carnations, and various ornamental Plants, including Orange, Lemon 
trees, &c. 

BULBOUS' AND TUBEROUS ROOTS.— Hyacinths, Tulips. 
Narcissus, and such other bulbs as are calculated to blossom in pots or 
glasses ; also, Gladioluses, Tuberoses, Amaryllises, Tiger Flowers, &c. ; 
together with a full assortment of DOUBLE DAHLIAS, embracing all 
the newest and most splendid varieties, of every shade and complexion. 



CATALOGUE. 



359 



HORTICULTURAL BOOKS. 

The Kitchen Gardener's Instructor >, containing ample directions for the 
cultivation of Culinary Vegetables, Herbs, &c. Price 37| cents. 

The Florist's Guide, containing practical directions for the cultivation of 
Flowers. Second edition, improved. Price 373 cents. 

The Young Gardener's Assistant, containing practical directions for the 
cultivation of Culinary Vegetables, Flowers, Fruit Trees, the Grape Vine, 
<fec. &c. Seventh edition, just published. Price One Dollar. 

fdr* Seedsmen and Booksellers supplied on liberal terms. 



MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 

BIRD SEEDS— Hemp, Canary, Yellow, Rape, and Millett ; Flax, 
Timothy, Clover, and Grass Seeds; Split Peas for Soup; Scotch Barley; 
Russian Mats, Flower Pots, &c. &c. on moderate terms. 

23" Bouquets of Flowers tastefully arranged, and delivered to order at 
the shortest notice. 



A CATALOGUE OF GARDEN SEEDS 

Usually kept at Seed Stores, for Cultivation in the Kitchen 
Garden. 



ARTICHOKE, Green Globe 

ASPARAGUS 

BEANS, English Broad Windsor 

Early Mazagan 

Sword Long Pod 

Early Dun Colored, or Quaker 

Early China Dwarf 

Early Mohawk 

Early Marrow 

Early Dwarf Case Knife 

Yellow Six Weeks 

Red Dwarf Cranberry 

Red Pole do. 

White Pole do. 

White'Dwarf do. 

Horticultural Pole 

Large White Lima 

Saba, or Small Lima 

Asparagus, or Yard Long 

White Dutch Runners 

Scarlet Runners 

Davenport, fine early sort 
BEET, Early Blood Turnip Rooted 

Long Blood 

Long Red 

Early Orange 

Green, for stews or soups 

Swiss Chard 

French Sugar 

Mangel Wurtzel,/or cattle 
BORECOLE 
BRUSSELS SPROUTS 
BROCCOLI, Early White 



Early Purple 
T Large Cape 
CAULIFLOWER, Early 
Late Dutch 
CARAWAY 
CELERY, White Giant 

"White Solid 

Rose-coloured 

Celeriac, or Turnip-rooted 
CABBAGE, Early Dutch 

Early York 

Early Bullock's Heart 

Early Wellington 

Early Sugarloaf 

Early Battersea 

Green Globe Savoy 

Large C&pe Savoy 

Yellow Savoy 

Large Drumhead 

Red Dutch, for pickling 

Large Late Bergen 

Turnip-rooted, (above and below 
ground") 

Large Scotch, /or cafife, and many 
other varieties 
CARROT, Early Horn 

Long Orange 

Altringham and other varieties. 
CUCUMBER, Early Cluster 

Early Frame 

Long Green Prickly 

Short Prickly 

Long Green Turkey 



360 



CATALOGUE. 



Long White Turkey 

White Spined 

Gherkin, small, for pickles 
CRESS Curled, or Pepper-grass 

Broad-leaved Garden 

Water 
CORIANDER 

EGG PLANT, Purple and White 
ENDIVE 
INDIAN CORN 

Early Jefferson 

Early Canada 

Tuscarora 

Sweet or Sugar, fine for boiling 

Pearl, &c. &c. 
KALE, several varieties 
LEEK, London 

Large Scotch 
LETTUCE, Early Curled Silesia 

Early Green Curled 

Royal Cape,Jme 

Imperial Head 

Tennisball, or Rose 

Summer Silesia 

Hardy Green 

Magnum Bonum Coss 

White Coss, or Loaf 

Ice Coss 

Green Coss 

Hammersmith 
MELON, Large Water 

Long Carolina Water 

Apple Seed, Water Early 

Long Island 

Green Citron, Green fleshed 

Pine Apple, Green fleshed 

Persian do. 

Nutmeg do. 

Large Canteleupe do. 

Minorca 

Pomegranate, small 
MART YNEA, for pickles 
MUSTARD, Black 

White, or English 
NASTURTIUM 
OKRA 
ONION, White Portugal 

Silver Skin, or Yellow 

Large Red 

Potatoe Onion, the bulbs or roots 

Top or Tree 
PEPPER, invar. 

Squash, or Tomatoe shaped 

Long Cayenne 

Cherry 
PUMPKIN, Large Cheese 

Finest Family 

Field * 

Mammoth 
PARSNIP, cup 

Large Dutch 



PARSLEY Dwarf Curled 

Extra Curled 
PEAS, Early Frame 

Earliest Dwarf, fine, grows SO 

inches high 
Early Washington 
Dwarf Blue, Imperial 
Dwarf Scymetar, new variety 
Early Charlton 
Early Hotspur 

Early Double Blossom Frame 
Large Marrowfat 
Dwarf Blue Prussian 
Dwarf Sugar, eatable pods 
Knight's Dwarf Marrow 
Knight's Tall Marrow 
Matchless, or True Tall Mar- 

row fat 
Woodford &c 
RHUBARB, in variety 
RADISH, Early Frame 
Early Scarlet Short Top, 
Long Salmon 
Cherry, or Tnrnip Rooted 
While Turnip Rooted 
Yellow Turnip Rooted 
Long White Naples 
Black Spanish, or Fall 
SPINACH, Round or Summer, 

Prickly or Fall 
SALSIFY, or Vegetable Oyster 
SCORZONERA 
QUASH, Early Long Waited 
Early Bush, Scollop 
Canada Crook Neck, a fine winter 
Long Yellow Crook Neck 
Early Lemon, very small and early 
Valparaiso 
Vegetable Marrow 
Early Orange 
SORREL in varieties. 
TOMATO, or Love Apple 
TURNIP, Early White Dutch 
White Flat 
Yellow Aberdeen 
Long Yellow French 
Ruta Baiza. fine for stock 
Dale's Hybrid, and other varieties 

Sweet and Pot Herb Seeds. 

Thyme 

Sweet Marjorum 

Sage 

Summer Savory 

Sweet Basil 

Lavender 

Bene Plant 

Rosemary 

Fennel, Balm. &c. 



1 



